


Simple Diversions

by LaraBaker101



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Crime, Gen, Humor, Mia Black, Own Character, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2017-12-07 21:16:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 37
Words: 57,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/753165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaraBaker101/pseuds/LaraBaker101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Jane meets a consultant just like himself, he doesn't know what to think. But as they slowly start coming closer, he realizes that maybe a simple diversion from his game with Red John is just what he needed... Please R&R!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: A fic I thought of that has been floating in my head for a while. I just had to write it down! Please let me know what you think! For now I'm thinking of a Jane/OC pairing, but later it might change to Jane/Lisbon paring. Plus I was thinking that maybe this story would have 20+ chapters in it.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist or any of the characters or ideas.

**Chapter 1**

 

Patrick Jane was lying on his couch as usual, feigning sleep. Special Agent Teresa Lisbon was in her office completing some paperwork that her consultant had caused her. Wayne Rigsby, Grace Van Pelt, and Kimbal Cho were sitting at their computers doing nothing in particular.

Suddenly, Lisbon burst out of her office and announced, “Guys, we have a case. A sixteen year old girl was killed in her garden shed this morning. We’ll be working with SacPD on this one though so Jane, please be as good as you can?”

“I’ll try my best Lisbon.” Jane said with a charming smile as he followed the rest of the team out.

“I call shotgun!” Jane shouted childishly as he ran ahead.

**xxxxx**

Agents and Consultant had arrived at the crime scene and watched as the medical examiners carted the body of the victim away.

Cho, Rigsby, and Van Pelt split away from Jane and Lisbon to go and find out as much as they could.

Jane and Lisbon walked over to a man whom they assumed was in charge.

“Hi, I’m Special Agent Lisbon and this is my consultant Patrick Jane, we work for the CBI.” Lisbon said as she walked over to the fairly young looking man and showed him her badge.

“Ah, Agent Lisbon, I am Detective Daniel Reese.” The man replied as he shook Lisbon’s hand and showed her his badge.

“Nice to meet you Detective Reese.” Lisbon replied and Jane acknowledged the man with a nod.

“OK, so I’m sure you know who our victim is. Her name is Stella Brand. She went to the local high school a couple of blocks down. She lived with her mother and only had an older brother, Zavier.” Detective Reese filled them in.

“What about her father?” Jane asked.

“He died of cancer a few years back.” Daniel replied.

“Oh, what a shame.” Jane replied as he looked around the garden of the expensive house.

“Why don’t we walk and I’ll fill you in a little more.” Daniel said as he gestured for Lisbon and Jane to follow him.

“Uh, you guys go ahead.” Jane said as he slowly started walking away. “I’m gonna start looking around.”

**xxxxx**

Jane had been wandering around the garden and the outside of the house, looking for anything that someone might have missed.

All of a sudden, there was a rustling in the tree above him and Jane heard someone curse.

Jane stood right underneath the tree and looked above him. He managed to see the bottom of what seemed like a pair of expensive sneakers.

Suddenly, said sneakers were coming closer to the ground as the owner of the shoes swung down from a branch.

A woman landed on the ground in front of Jane with a thud. The woman rubbed her hands together and hissed at the pain that was coursing through her hands.

The woman looked up and made eye contact with Jane. Jane looked into the woman’s eyes.

To an outsider they looked like they were from the same planet. The woman was wearing black denim jeans, a crimson red dress shirt, a waist coat and a suit jacket. Plus the crimson colored converse.

“Why were you up in that tree?” Jane asked. Really, of all the things you could ask, that is your question?

“I was trying to see over the whole crime scene at once and decided that that tree was the perfect height.” The woman replied with a smug grin.

“Uh huh,” Jane drawled slowly. “And you are?”

“Oh, I’m Mia Black.” The woman, Mia, replied as she held out her hand. “I am a consultant for SacPD.”

“That’s funny,” Jane replied as he shook Mia’s hand. “My name is Patrick Jane and I am a consultant for the CBI.”

The two stood in silence for a while enjoying the cool breeze until Lisbon and Daniel walked over.

“Amelia Gretchen Black,” Daniel began as he came over to the two. “Where the heck have you been?”

Mia winced at her full name being uttered in that tone. “I was up a tree mother.” Mia replied sarcastically.

“Very funny,” Daniel replied angrily with a ‘no nonsense’ face. “How many times have I told you not to wander off, because you only cause trouble for me?”

“Daniel, I am twenty-seven for crying out loud,” Mia began angrily. “Besides, you’re not my brother or father.”

“Well I might as well be with all the sacrifices I make for you.” Daniel stated, raising his voice a little.

“Remind you of anyone?” Lisbon whispered to Jane with a smirk.

“No not really.” Jane replied nonchalantly with a grin of his own.

“I’m sorry Agent,” Daniel replied as he effectively ignored Mia. “My consultant doesn’t know about boundaries.”

“Join the club.” Lisbon replied with a glare at Jane. “Well, my team and I are going to question some of the suspects, but we’ll keep in contact.”

With that Lisbon said goodbye to Daniel and Mia and started walking towards the rest of her team. But when she looked again, Jane wasn’t following her; he was still standing in front of Daniel and Mia.

“Jane, aren’t you coming?” Lisbon asked with confusion.

“No, I’ll catch a ride with Daniel and Mia.” Jane replied easily.

Lisbon shrugged and continued towards the other three agents. _ **He better not cause any trouble.**_ Was her last thought.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own the Mentalist or any of the characters or ideas.

**Chapter 2**

 Jane had followed Mia and Daniel around and gathered witness statements, surveyed the crime scene, and helped Mia tick off a few of the crime scene personnel.

After about an hour Mia stopped abruptly and said, “I’m bored, I’ll see you later Daniel.”

As Mia started walking away Daniel asked, “Where do you think you’re going?” 

“Um, I think I’m gonna go grab some lunch.” Mia replied plainly. “Consultant, do you wanna come?”

“Of course,” Jane replied, brandishing a smile at what Mia had called him. “I could use some tea.”

 Mia smiled triumphantly at Jane’s reply and looked at her boss expectantly.

“Alright,” Daniel replied with a sigh. “Just as long as you don’t cause any trouble.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Mia replied and as she and Jane started walking towards her car she added. “Because doing is better than dreaming.”

**xxxxx**

Jane and Mia had driven to a little café not too far from the high school that the victim had gone to.

They were now seated in the warm, home-style café and had ordered a cup of tea each. Mia sat looking out the window and basking in the rays of sunshine, while Jane sat and watched her, trying to read her and find out as much as he could.

“So, how did you come to work for SacPD?” Jane asked suddenly.

“Oh, well I started working there when I was twenty-two.” Mia began. “But I only started working there because Daniel twisted my arm.”

“Really,” Jane replied with a little smile. “What did you do before that?”

“Before?” Mia asked surprised. “Well, I basically sang in bars and did magic shows.”

“Magic shows?” Jane asked incredulously.

“Yep, I used to ‘read people’s minds’.” Mia replied with a grin, using air quotes.

“Hm, it must not have paid pretty well.” Jane said.

“Oh it did,” Mia began. “I actually bought the car I’m using now with all that money.”

Jane gave a nod at this statement. Just as he was about to reply, the waitress came over and put their cups of tea on the table.

“Can I get you anything else?” The waitress asked with a bright smile in Jane’s direction.

“Yes,” Mia began. “I’ll have…” But was interrupted.

“We’ll have two toasted cheese sandwiches.” Jane said with a megawatt smile.

“Coming right up.” The waitress said with a faint blush on her cheeks as she wrote down their order and walked away.

“How did you know that was what I wanted?” Mia asked with more curiosity in her voice than anger.

“You seem like someone who enjoys a good toasted cheese sandwich.” Jane replied happily.

Mia didn’t even bother to reply and just nodded her head. They sat in silence for a while, each drinking their tea.

“Daniel is fairly protective over you.” Jane said after their sandwiches had arrived.

“Fairly protective?” Mia began after she swallowed the bite of sandwich she had taken. “He treats me like I’m a little girl and he is my dad.”

“Well, at least you know he cares about you.” Jane replied with a full mouth.

“Yeah, but I wish he would just mind his own business sometimes.” Mia replied as she played with the salad on her plate.

“He is just trying to protect you because of some trauma you experienced in your earlier years.” Jane stated matter-of-factly.

“Oh really,” Mia said sarcastically. “And what trauma would that be?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Jane began as he took another bite. “Maybe something to do with your parents.”

That seemed to touch a nerve. Mia dropped her fork and tears started to well in her eyes. She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes before replying angrily, “No, you’re lying.”

“Really,” Jane began his pursuit for the correct answer. “Then where are your parents.”

“They died when I was sixteen.” Mia replied angrily as she glared at Jane.

Jane seemed shocked at her reply and said softly, “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“When they died I had to stay in a foster home until I was eighteen, then I found my own place. I started singing in bars for extra money and after a while, with some studying, I started with magic tricks.” Mia said with a little less bite.

“Sounds like you managed.” Jane replied with a small smile.

“Yeah,” Mia began. “Anyway, after a while Daniel came to me and asked me if I would help the police. I didn’t know Daniel at the time, so I said I would think about it. So I thought about it and said I would help. After the first case I fell in love with the job.” Mia finished with a dreamy look.

They sat and finished their sandwiches in silence. But it was a comfortable silence.

When they had finished their sandwiches Jane asked, “Wanna play a different role and fool someone in the process?”

Mia seemed to mull it over and asked, “OK, what role are we going to play and who are we going to fool?”

“Well, the waitress has been sending me googly eyes since I walked through the door,” Jane began in a low whisper. “So we will pretend to be a couple and see what her reaction is.”

“OK, I’m in.” Mia replied simply.

“Good, because here she comes.” Jane said and motioned towards the waitress who was indeed coming towards them.

 “Can I get you anything else?” The waitress asked sweetly, looking more to Jane than Mia.

“Would you like anything else darling?” Jane asked Mia as he took her hand in his.

“No thank you darling.” Mia replied with a cheeky grin.

“OK,” Jane began as he planted a soft kiss on Mia’s hand. “Can we have the bill please?”

The waitress’ smile dropped as she saw Jane kiss Mia’s hand and spotted the ring on Jane’s finger.

“Um, of course sir.” The waitress began, voice suddenly professional. “Will it be cash or card?”

“Card,” Jane replied with a grin.

“Come this way sir.” The waitress replied as she led them towards the front counter.

Mia and Jane stood from their seats in the booth and Jane immediately grabbed Mia’s hand.

Jane paid with his card and he and Mia walked out hand in hand, leaving the ashamed and disappointed waitress behind.

As soon as Jane and Mia were out in the fresh air, they burst out laughing. After a while the laughing subsided and they found themselves in front of Mia’s car.

“That was hilarious.” Mia said with a smile.

“Did you see the daggers she sent you when I kissed your hand?” Jane asked with a huge megawatt smile.

“I thought she was going to start growling soon.” Mia replied with a giggle.

They both got into Mia’s car and Mia asked, “So, where to now?”

“Well, Lisbon is probably going to be looking for me like a blood hound on the trail,” Jane began, which made Mia smile. “So if you could drop me off at CBI, I would be grateful.”

“Of course.” Mia replied as she started the car.

**xxxxx**

Mia pulled into the CBI parking lot after Jane flashed his ‘badge’. Mia pulled into one of the parking spaces.

“Well, here we are.” Mia began as she looked at the big building. “Home, sweet home.”

 “Not quite.” Jane murmured to himself. “Thank you for the ride.”

“Any time.” Mia replied with a smile.

“Give my regards to Daniel.” Jane said as he opened his door.

“Will do,” Mia replied. “Give mine to Lisbon.”

“Will do.” Jane said as he repeated what Mia had said.

Just as Jane was about to get out, he quickly leaned down and gave Mia a quick kiss on her cheek. Mia was so stunned that she didn’t even say anything as Jane got out and shut the door.

Jane walked around to Mia’s side of the car and waved. Mia put down her window and said, “See you around Consultant.”

With that Mia started her car and drove away. Jane walked into the CBI building and thought to himself as the doors of the elevator shut in front of him, _**She’s nice, but why did I kiss her?**_    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please drop a comment or give me some kudos! It's much appreciated :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own the Mentalist or any of the characters or ideas.

**Chapter 3**

 

 It was three hours later and Jane was lying on his couch when Lisbon walked in and asked angrily, “Jane, are you actually going to help with this case or are you going to sleep on your couch all day?”

“I was actually solving the case, not sleeping Lisbon.” Jane replied quietly.

“Were you now?” Lisbon asked sarcastically as she sat down next to Jane’s couch. “Then do tell who the killer is.”

 “It’s the brother’s girlfriend.” Jane replied plainly without opening his eyes.

“How do you figure that?” Lisbon asked angrily. “Zavier Brand doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

“Is that what he told you?” Jane asked.

“Yes,” Lisbon began slowly. “Why?”

“What a liar,” Jane began. “He obviously has a secret girlfriend.”

“Oh really, how do you know?” Lisbon asked.

“I went inside the house and found some evidence that will prove my theory.” Jane replied.

“What else says the girlfriend did it?” Lisbon asked. “Besides, why would he keep his girlfriend a secret?”

“Because his girlfriend has a very rich, powerful, and scary father.” Jane replied.

Lisbon snorted at Jane’s answer but listened as he continued, “Plus, it would be very embarrassing if daddy’s little girl admitted to dating a ‘commoner’.” Jane used air quotes around the word commoner.

“So you think the girlfriend did it?” Lisbon asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Yes.” Jane replied easily.

“Why?” Lisbon asked.

“Well, obviously little sister found out about the secret relationship and threatened to tell. So girlfriend got rid of the problem.” Jane replied as he sat up and stretched out his arms.

“But who is the girlfriend?” Lisbon asked.

“I still have to figure that part out.” Jane said.

 “Brilliant,” Lisbon replied with sarcasm dripping from her voice. “Detective Reese wanted to meet up and discuss the case.”

“You can go Lisbon, I’ll just wait here.” Jane replied as he got up and started heading towards the kitchen.

“Fine, but I’m sure Mia will be there.” Lisbon replied coaxingly.

Jane stopped in his tracks when he heard what Lisbon had said.

“Maybe I could give some insight into the case.” Jane said as he turned around to get his jacket.

Lisbon followed him out to the elevator with a smirk on her face.

**xxxxx**

Jane and Lisbon had arrived at the Sacramento Police Department. Lisbon flashed her badge and the two of them walked up to the front desk.

“Hi, I’m Agent Teresa Lisbon and this is Patrick Jane,” Lisbon said to a middle-aged woman behind the desk. “We’re here to see Detective Reese.”

“I’ll just let him know you’re here.” The woman replied as she picked up the phone on her desk.

Lisbon was standing, waiting for anymore news when she suddenly noticed the Jane was nowhere to be found.

“Jane?” Lisbon asked as she started looking around. “Not again.” Lisbon sighed.

**xxxxx**

Jane was standing next to Lisbon as the plump woman behind the desk said, “I’ll just let him know you’re here.” Jane saw, out of the corner of his eye, a ponytail of familiar reddish-brown hair.

Jane silently walked over to the owner of the hair and tugged on the end of her ponytail.

“Hey!” said the owner of the hair and turned around with an angry glare. She was about to speak when blue eyes met hazel.

“You were saying?” Jane asked with a smile after a minute or two of silence.

“What are you doing here?” Mia asked curiously as she stood in front of Jane.

“Hello to you too.” Jane replied sarcastically.

Mia just stared cheekily at Jane and waited for his answer.

Jane sighed and said, “Lisbon and I are here to discuss the case with Daniel.”

“Oh, well where is Lisbon?” Mia asked with confusion.

“I left her at the front desk.” Jane replied.

“You left her there without saying where you were going, didn’t you?” Mia asked with a smirk.

“Maybe,” Jane replied. “Maybe not.”

“Let’s go before you get into trouble.” Mia said as she started walking in the opposite direction from where Jane had come from.

“The front desk is that way.” Jane pointed towards the other end of the hall.

“Yeah, but we can wait in Daniel’s office.” Mia replied with a know-all smirk.

“Ah,” Jane replied with a smile. “Makes sense.”

**xxxxx**

Lisbon was standing by the front desk, cursing at Jane under her breath.

Daniel came up behind her and said, “Agent Lisbon, I’m glad you could come.”

Lisbon spun around quickly, looking a little like the cat who ate the canary.

“Of course,” Lisbon replied. “Anything to help solve the case.”

Daniel motioned for Lisbon to follow him and with one last glance around the room, Lisbon followed.

**xxxxx**

Daniel and Lisbon rounded the last corner on the way to Daniel’s office. Daniel walked up to a door with a sign that read, Detective Daniel Reese.

Daniel opened the door and motioned for Lisbon to walk in. Lisbon walked into the dimly lit office and as soon as Daniel hit the light switch, they noticed the two figures sitting in the office.

Mia was sitting at Daniel’s desk, typing on his laptop. Jane was leaning over Mia and reading over her shoulder.

The two culprits looked up and realized that they had been caught.

“Uh oh,” Mia said as she stopped typing. “Busted!”

Jane quickly stood up straight and Mia shot up from where she was sitting as if the seat burned her.

“What were you doing on my laptop?” Daniel asked angrily, yet curiously as he came over to his desk.

“Nothing.” Mia replied quickly as she moved out from behind Daniel’s desk.

Daniel was looking at his screen and couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Mia had successfully managed to hack into his computer, read all of his e-mail, and mess up his desktop by moving things and changing his background from Sacramento Police Department, to a picture from his high school days.

Where did she even get the picture? Daniel wondered to himself.

“How did you crack my password?” Daniel asked incredulously.

“It wasn’t that hard,” Mia replied easily with a mischievous grin. “It was the name of your first crush.”

“How did you know who that was?” Daniel asked.

“Easy,” Mia replied as she looked to Jane. “We just opened the right files.”

“We are going to have a serious talk about this later.” Daniel said angrily.

Lisbon had been standing just inside of Daniel’s office, listening to the whole conversation and silently smiling to herself. Jane, on the other hand, had been showing off his grin proudly.

“Now, maybe we can start with what we actually came here for.” Daniel said as he sat down at his desk and motioned for Lisbon to do the same. Jane and Mia simply shared the couch.

“So, do you have anything new on the case Detective Reese?” Lisbon asked with a small smirk.

“Well, it appears the girl was killed with a baseball bat.” Daniel replied as he started reading from a file that was sitting in front of him. “We also found some glitter on the body.”

“Glitter?” Lisbon repeated.

“Yes,” Daniel replied. “Body-glitter to be exact.”

“Where would the body glitter have come from?” Lisbon asked.

“The girlfriend.” Jane and Mia both said at the same time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please drop a comment and give me some kudos :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own the Mentalist or any of the characters or ideas.

**Chapter 4**

 

Daniel and Lisbon shared a glance at the two consultants’ replies.

“I already told you Mia, Zavier didn’t have a girlfriend.” Daniel said as he took some papers out of the file in front of him. 

“But I already know who the girlfriend is.” Mia replied angrily.

“Do you now,” Daniel began as he rolled his eyes. “Then please enlighten us.”

“Her name is Avery Lancaster.” Mia replied boldly. “She goes to the same school as Zavier and is the head of the cheerleading squad and the debate team.”

“Alright,” Daniel said with a sigh. “Why don’t you go with Alistair and Gresham and check it out.”

“Sure,” Mia replied as she stood from her spot on the couch. “I’ll be glad to prove you wrong.”

Mia walked out of Daniel’s office and down the hall.

“Why don’t you go with her Jane?” Lisbon asked as she motioned for Jane to go in the same direction.

“Sure thing Lisbon.” Jane replied as he stood and followed after Mia.

“You know they’re just going to get into a lot of trouble right?” Daniel Reese asked sarcastically.

“I know,” Lisbon replied with a sigh. “At least this way we get to split the blame fifty-fifty.”

**xxxxx**

“Alright guys, Daniel wants us to go and catch the killer.” Mia announced as she stepped into the somewhat cramped office area.

“Did Daniel really say that, or are you making things up again?” A tall black man in his early thirties asked as he sipped from a cup of coffee.

“What would make you think I would make up something so serious David?” Mia asked with a mock wounded expression. “You wound me.”

“Oh please,” A woman with blond hair replied. “How many times haven’t you led us on a wild goose-chase?” The woman sat down at her desk with what seemed to be her lunch.

“OK, once or twice,” Mia replied to which everyone snorted. “But I have always managed to solve the case.”

Jane suddenly came into view as he walked up behind Mia.

“Where did blondy come from?” David Flood asked.

“Oh, this is Patrick Jane from CBI.” Mia said as she turned to introduce Jane.

 “Hi,” David said as he came over to Jane. “I’m David flood.”

“Pleasure to meet you.” Jane replied as he shook the taller man’s hand

“So, the other two untrusting people over there,” Mia began as she pointed to the blond woman and another man who had just walked in with some paper work. “Are Lisa Gresham and Alistair Mc Farley.”

The other two detectives came over to Jane and each shook his hand.

“It is a pleasure to meet you all,” Jane began. “But Mia was telling the truth about catching the killer.”

The three detectives shared a glance and David asked, “OK, who was specifically requested to accompany you two?”

“Alistair and Gresham.” Mia replied plainly.

The three shared another look and David replied, "Alright, see you guys later!"

The two detectives watched as David sauntered off somewhere.

"Alright, let's go." Alistair said as he grabbed his gun and badge.

The four walked out of the door and left to go and find the girlfriend.

**xxxxx**

They had arrived at the high that the victim and her brother had attended. They walked into the school and were met by the principle, who had been warned of their arrival by Detective Gresham.

"You must be the people investigating Stella Brand's death." The headmistress, Miss Valentino, said as she led the small group through the halls of the school.

"Yes," Alistair replied. "This is Detective Lisa Gresham, I am Detective Alistair Mc Farley and these are our two consultants."

"Um, I actually work for the CBI." Jane said politely as he walked next to Mia.

"Right well, this is the senior's home room." Miss Valentino said as she showed them towards two wooden doors.

The four stood outside the door as Jane looked through the little stained glass windows.

Miss Valentino opened the doors and they all walked through into the little classroom.

"Students, can I have your attention please," Miss Valentino began in a loud voice. "These are the detectives that are going to be investigating Stella's murder."

The detectives and consultants said good morning to the class and Jane said, "Please, finish your lesson and we'll talk to you in your lunch break."

Jane ushered everyone out of the class and turned to the two detectives.

"Why don't you two go and have tea with the principle and Mia and I will wait here until the class is finished." Jane said with his signature grin.

Gresham and Alistair shared a look before Mia gave them a semi reassuring look.

"Fine, but if you guys do anything that'll put our heads on the chopping block, we're coming after you." Lisa replied.

"We won't, Scout's Honor." Jane said as he held his hand up in oath.

With that, Lisa and Alistair turned to follow the principle, albeit regretfully.

"What do we do now?" Mia asked.

Jane simply gave a cheeky grin and grabbed Mia's hand as he pulled her back into the classroom.

"We're just sitting in on the class today." Jane said hurriedly to students and teacher as he pulled Mia towards the two open desks at the back of the classroom.

They sat down and Mia whispered to Jane, "What was that all about?"

"I'm just laying some bait for the students." Jane replied. "If they see us as friends and think we're dating, they might open up."

"What makes you think that?" Mia asked with a confused expression.

"Well, normally cops don't date each other," Jane began in a whisper. "And if they do, they aren't open about it, because it's against the rules."

"So?" Mia asked.

"So," Jane said matter-of-factly. "That would make us seem like the rebellious cops, therefore making us trustworthy."

"Oh," Mia began. "Now it makes sense."

Jane didn't realize that he was still holding Mia's hand as he listened to the bored, underpaid teacher lecture on about some ancient piece of American history. Oddly, he didn't mind though as he noted that Mia's hands were warm and soft.

They sat hand in hand, not really listening to the teacher's speech, but silently reading each and every student.

Eventually the bell rang and Jane and Mia had two likely suspects already.

All of the students picked up the books and bags and started to pile out of the class room. Everyone except for one girl with blond hair.

Jane and Mia stood, still hand in hand and went over to the girl.

"Hi, I'm Patrick Jane and this is Mia Black." Jane began as he smiled at the girl."Were you close to Stella?"

The girl sniffled and looked into their eyes. "Yeah, she was my best friend."

"What is your name?" Mia asked the girl.

"My name is Susan," The girl began as she stuck her hand out to the two of them. "Susan Hemsworth."

Both Jane and Mia shook Susan's hand.

"We were friends since pre-school." Susan continued as she stood and slung her book bag over her shoulder. "We did everything together and we knew everything about each other."

"Are you sure you knew absolutely everything?" Mia asked as she and Jane followed Susan down the now busy hallway.

"Yes, she knew things I have never told anyone else." Susan began in a quieter tone. "And vice versa."

Jane and Mia followed the girl to her locker and watched as she put some books inside. On the inside of the locker door was a picture of Stella and Susan.

"You two look very alike in this picture." Jane said as he took a closer look at the photograph.

"Yeah, sometimes we used to pretend we were long lost sisters or something." Susan said as she paused to look at the picture.

That minute the school bell rang, indicating that it was lunch time.

"That's the bell for lunch." Susan began as she shut her locker door. "You guys can come if you want."

Jane and Mia seemed to have a wordless conversation as they shared a glance.

"Unless you two want to be alone." Susan added as she motioned to their still intertwined hands.

As soon as they noticed where Susan was motioning, they dropped each other's hands and Jane quickly replied, "Uh sure, we'll join you for lunch."

"Cool," Susan replied. "Just follow me."

The two followed the girl into the cafeteria and sat down at one of the round tables with her. Susan pulled a brown paper bag out of her book bag and put it on the table along with a bottle of juice. She pulled two sandwiches out of the bag and handed one of them to Jane.

"You guys can share that one." Susan said with a smile. “I’m sure you both like cheese."

"Thank you very much Susan." Jane replied with his megawatt grin and handed half of the sandwich to Mia.

"We really are spoiled," Jane began. "This is our second cheese sandwich of the day."

Susan gave a shy smile as they all bit into the sandwiches.

"Hmm, your sandwich is definitely better than the first." Mia said with a kind smile.

They ate in silence for a while, just listening to the noises of the teenagers around them.

"Susan, do you know of anyone that would want to kill Stella?" Jane asked suddenly.

"Well, with this being high school," Susan began. "I don't think so."

"Did any of the teachers seem to have a grudge against Stella?" Mia asked.

"Not that I can think of." Susan replied.

"What about Zavier," Jane asked. "Did he have any friends who didn't particularly like Stella?"

"No," Susan replied plainly.

"Did Zavier have a girlfriend?" Mia asked.

"Um," Susan seemed to think for a while. "Yeah, he was dating the captain of the cheer leading squad, but I don't know if they're still together."

Mia and Jane shared a look as their hunches were proved right.

"What is this girl's name?" Jane asked.

"Her name is Avery," Susan began. "Avery Lancaster."

Once again Mia and Jane shared a look, each with their own signature grin in place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please drop a comment and give me some kudos :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Hey, do you know where Blondie and Mia went?" Lisa asked as she looked around for the two consultants in question.

"I don't know," Alistair replied. "But we better find them."

"Yeah," Lisa agreed as she followed behind Alistair. "Who knows how much trouble they could get into?

Lisa and Alistair were walking down the now busy hallway as they searched for the two consultants.

The shrill ringing of the school bell sounded through the school as students scrambled to get to their different classes.

 Amongst the bustle of teens, Alistair caught a glimpse of some wild, golden curls and reddish brown hair.

"Gotcha!" he mumbled to himself as he motioned for Lisa to follow him.

As they entered the classroom they saw Mia and Jane go into, they were met with the sight of Jane and Mia up front, busy trying to question the bunch of uninterested teenagers.

"Ah, Detectives how nice of you to join us." Jane said with his megawatt smile in place. "We were just about to start asking some questions."

Alistair and Lisa each gave an awkward wave to the class in front of them.

"Why don't you guys go and sit down at the back of the classroom?" Mia suggested to the two detectives.

Alistair gave a quick nod and he and Lisa walked to the back of the classroom and each took a seat on one of the empty seats.

"Alright," Jane began loudly. "Why don't we start?"

Jane started walking up and down slowly as Mia leaned against the large wooden desk and observed the students.

"I'm sure you all know by now that one of your classmates has been murdered recently." Jane began. "My colleague and I believe that it might be someone who attended this very school."

At this everyone in the room gasped.

"Maybe even one of your classmates," Jane said, which made everyone look around suspiciously. "Or the person sitting right next to you."

All of the teens started to whisper and murmur frantically amongst each other.

"But there is no need to worry," Jane began. "We intend to find the culprit and bring him, her, or them to justice." The class started to quieten down again as one girl in the back of the class raised her hand.

"Yes?" Jane said as he pointed to the blond girl.

"How are you two going to solve the case?" The girl asked haughtily. "You two don't even look like cops, more like characters from a Sherlock Holmes book."

At this the class all made quite a noise. Some laughed, some whispered and few of the young guys said, "Ooh," altogether.

"Well, we don't look like cops because we aren't cops," Jane began as he slowly started walking towards the girl. "But rather consultants."

The girl scoffed and replied, "Why would the cops need consultants? They have solid police work."

"But a cop wouldn't be able to tell you that you are a spoilt daddy's girl and that the only reason you made the first comment was to be in the spotlight and show off to the air headed muscle guy over there that you've had a crush on since first grade." Jane replied easily with one breath.

His reply left the girl timid and speechless and the class repeated the noises they had made earlier.

"Now, back to the important things." Jane continued loudly.

"Why don't we try a little exercise? I want all of you to stand up and raise your hands above your head like so." Jane raised his hands up above his head and watched as the students stood and did the same.

"Good, now I want the person who killed Stella to drop their right hand." Jane said as he dropped his right hand for demonstration.

He and everyone looked around the classroom and found that no one had dropped either of their hands.

"Well, I guess this means none of you is the killer," Jane said as he dropped his other hand with a confused expression. "So we'll just leave you all to get back to your lesson."

Mia stood and followed Jane out of the door with Lisa and Alistair close behind.

"You didn't think that would actually work did you?" Alistair asked as they all stood in the empty hallway.

"Well, my assistant will enlighten us as to whether it worked or not." Jane replied a he turned to Mia.

"It worked," Mia replied simply.

"No it didn't," Lisa began. "No one dropped their right hand."

"No, but someone almost did." Mia replied with a mischievous grin.

"Really?" Alistair asked incredulously. "Who?"

"The girl that was so cocky and knew so much about police work." Mia replied.

"Well what is her name?" Lisa asked impatiently.

Mia and Jane shared a knowing look before they replied simultaneously, "Avery Lancaster."

xxxxx

"So you guys think a teenager killed someone in her class, just because she hesitated in holding her hands above her head?" Daniel asked somewhat angrily.

They had all driven to CBI instead of SacPD HQ, because Lisbon's entire team were at CBI. Besides, it was just so much easier.

"Yep," Mia replied. "And we're right."

Lisbon and Daniel shared a look and Lisbon spoke up, "Jane tried this once before and the results were very much the same, but we still caught the killer."

"But we need solid evidence," Daniel replied angrily. "Not slight tremors of the hand."

"Then we'll find solid evidence." Cho replied plainly. "We all know and trust Jane's crazy methods and we always catch the bad guy."

Van Pelt and Rigsby mumbled in agreement at Cho's words.

"Alright," Daniel replied with a sigh. "Let's say it was Avery, how do we get a confession out of her?"

"We have to find her weakness." Jane replied.

"How do we do that?" Lisa asked curiously.

"Maybe we can go by her house and Jane and Mia can see if they can find out more about her." Rigsby suggested.

"That isn't such a bad idea." David Flood said as he stood from his seat.

"Alright, we'll get her address, pay her a visit, and meet you back here." Lisbon said to Daniel.

"Alright, for now we'll see if solid police work can get us anywhere." Daniel replied as he motioned for all of his team, apart from Mia, to follow him.

"Alright, Jane, Mia, and I will head over to the Lancaster house; you guys see what else you can find." Lisbon commanded as she led the way out of the bull pen.

"Let's prove Lisbon and Daniel wrong." Jane said as he held his hand up in a high five to Mia.

"Let's do this!" Mia replied as she gave Jane a high five.

xxxxx

They arrived at the Lancaster estate in the richer regions of Sacramento.

The SUV pulled up to a house that looked like a mansion with a rounded drive way.

"Here we are." Lisbon announced as she turned the engine of the car off.

"Show time." Jane said as he opened his door and climbed out of the black car.

"Alright," Lisbon began as she, Jane, and Mia started walking up the huge stairs. "You guys look around and see what you can find. In the meantime I'll talk to Avery and her father and see what I can find out."

"Sure thing Lisbon." Jane replied as he winked at Mia.

Lisbon walked up to the huge, wooden doors that made up the front entrance and rung the little doorbell that sat on the wall.

The chorus for 'Hollywood' by Michael Bublé rung through the house and Jane murmured to Mia, "Not ostentatious at all, is it."

One of the giant doors swung open to reveal a man in his fifties with a fancy suit and grey hair that was slicked back neatly.

"How may I help you?" The man asked in a gravelly British accent.

“Hi, I am Special Agent Teresa Lisbon with the CBI and these are my consultants Patrick Jane and Mia Black. We were wondering if we could speak to Mr Lancaster.”

The old man turned around and seemed to be looking down the hallway as he replied, “Mr Lancaster is very busy at the moment.”

“Well we need to talk to him on official police business.” Mia said kindly with her most charming smile.

“I’ll see if I can persuade Mr Lancaster to see guests.” The butler went inside briefly and returned with a smile.

“It seems Mr Lancaster has cleared his schedule and will see you now.” The little, old man said as he moved out of the door way and motioned for the three people in front of him to enter.

“Thank you.” Mia said with another wonderful smile as she passed by the old man.

Mr Lancaster was speaking on his fancy smart phone when Jane, Lisbon and Mia walked into his well-furnished study.

“That is my final decision.” Mr Lancaster said as he motioned for Jane, Lisbon and Mia to take come inside. “I will not pay that much money on something so useless! Why doesn’t she have her wonderful boyfriend buy it for her? I’ll talk to you later, bye.”

Mr Lancaster put his phone down on the table and turned to face his guests with a sigh.

“Sorry, that was my lawyer,” Mr Lancaster said as he sat down behind his large desk. “Divorce is a living hell.”

Lisbon gave a curt nod and sat down in the chair in front of Mr Lancaster’s desk. Jane motioned for Mia to take the seat instead, as he was trying to be a gentleman.

“Mr Lancaster,” Lisbon began, but was cut off.

“Please, call me Peter.” Mr Lancaster said.

“Alright, Peter” Lisbon replied. “We just wanted to know whether you knew about the murder of a sixteen year old girl named Stella Brand. She attended the same school your daughter did.”

“Well, I heard about it from one of the other parents.” Peter replied with a devastated look. “I just didn’t think it was true.”

“Well it is,” Jane said as he turned to Peter. “We were just wondering if maybe you knew who could’ve done it.”

“Of course not,” Peter began. “I didn’t even know this girl.”

“What about your daughter, Avery?” Mia asked.

“Not as far as I know,” Peter replied with a confused expression. “I mean, she never mentioned anyone named Stella.”

“What about a boy named Zavier,” Lisbon asked as she showed Peter a picture of Zavier. “Did your daughter ever mention him?”

Peter seemed to study the picture before replying, “This boy did come around here once, but Avery said that she was just being helped with her homework by this boy.”

Jane gave a brief nod and announced, “I will be right back; I left something in the car.”

“Why don’t I come with you?” Mia asked as she stood and followed Jane out of the room.

Jane and Mia walked quietly down the long hallway.

“What are we looking for?” Mia whispered to Jane.

“We’re looking for a bedroom that looks like it could belong to a sixteen year old girl.” Jane whispered back.

The two were quietly walking down the hallway when they heard footsteps. Jane pointed to another room and pulled Mia in behind him.

The two consultants held their breath as Jane watched through the little crack in the door.

Jane saw the butler walk past with a tray piled with cake and tea.

Once the footsteps died away, Jane motioned for Mia to follow him out and grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her up the spiral stair case with him.

Once upstairs, they found that there were about five more rooms, some of which had closed doors.

They walked up to a door with a sign that read 'Avery' and was decorated with rhinestones and stickers.

Jane put his hand on the doorknob and was about to turn it when Mia spoke up, "You can't just open the door! What if she's in there?"

“She won’t be here, because she’s probably still at school.” Jane replied reassuringly as he swung the door open.

The walls were decorated with plenty of pictures and a few expensive, antique paintings scattered here and there.

“Hey look,” Jane began as he walked over to a particularly large poster. “There’s that so called ‘Heartthrob’ that all the girls are going crazy about. What was his name? Something ‘Beaver’?”

Mia gave a little giggle as she shook her head and replied, “No, his name is Justin Bieber. Besides, he’s not what we’re looking for.”

“Right,” Jane replied. “I’ll look over there and you check her dresser.”

Mia gave a nod and the two split up. Jane started rummaging through drawers, while keeping them surprisingly neat, and Mia looked through the cabinets of Avery’s dresser.

After a while, Mia shouted triumphantly, “I think I found something that could prove that Avery and Zavier were dating.”

Jane came over to Mia and looked at the little photograph in her hands. It was a picture of Zavier with his arms around Avery’s shoulders in a hug. The two teens were both laughing and were clearly having fun.

“That’s proof alright.” Jane said as he took the photograph from Mia.

Suddenly they heard voices coming up the hall and both panicked.

“What do we do?!” Mia whispered to Jane.

Jane looked around quickly and pulled Mia towards a rather large closet.

“Let’s hide in here.” Jane said as he pushed Mia into the dark cupboard.

Jane closed the door enough so that they wouldn’t be seen, but so that he could still see out.

The bedroom door opened and in walked none other than Zavier and Avery. The two teenagers walked in and Avery shut the door.

Zavier pulled Avery into a warm embrace as he let out a sigh. The two stood for a while before Avery pulled away and Zavier tucked a stray piece of her hair behind her ear.

“I’m sorry about your sister.” Avery said as she held both of Zavier’s hands.   

“I guess it’s OK,” Zavier replied. He had a surprisingly deep voice Jane noted. “I’ll still miss her, but I’m sure the cops will catch the scumbag who did it.”

“I’m sure they will.” Avery replied as she put her arms around Zavier and hugged him tightly.

“That’s not guilty behavior, but signs of typical grieving.” Mia whispered to Jane as she pushed up against his chest to see through the crack in the door.

“You’re right,” Jane whispered back. “I guess we were both wrong.”

Mia gave a nod, but Jane was too captivated by her eyes to concentrate on the two other people in the other room.

Mia looked back into his eyes and couldn’t help noticing that he was staring in a more than simply admiring way.

The two started leaning in subconsciously when they suddenly heard a loud bang. They quickly turned to look through the crack at where the sound had come from.

It seems that either Zavier or Avery had dropped one of the many large, heavy text books they used for school.

There came a knock at the door and a voice that sounded like it could be Peter asked, “Avery? Are you here?”

“Yeah Dad,” Avery replied. “Zavier and I are just studying.”

There was a brief pause before Peter spoke up again, “Could you and Zavier come down stairs please? There is someone here asking questions about Stella, Zavier’s sister.”

There seemed to be some mumbling as the two teens debated whether they should go downstairs or not before Avery replied, “Sure Dad, we’ll be right there.”

Jane and Mia watched as the two teenagers walked out of the room and left the door wide open, which was exactly what Jane and Mia wanted.

The two consultants quietly came out of the dark closet and walked over to the door, waiting a while before walking down the stairs.

Jane and Mia went to the study where they found Lisbon, Peter, Zavier, and Avery.

Everyone turned around as they saw the two consultants enter.

“Wait a minute,” Avery said with a confused expression. “Weren’t you two at our school today?”

“Uh, yes we were.” Jane replied shyly. “We were just here to ask your dad if he knew anything, but we have everything we need, so we’ll be going now.”

Lisbon looked a little confused as Jane motioned for her to follow him out.

“Thank you for your time Mr Lancaster.” Jane said as he pulled Lisbon out with him and Mia.

“What was that all about?” Lisbon asked as they climbed into the black SUV.

“I’ll tell you when we get back to CBI.” Jane replied. “But the answer will be very insightful, trust me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and give some kudos :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"First you tell us that Avery is the killer, now you say it was Peter Lancaster?" Lisbon said to the two consultants that were sat on Jane's couch. "So, which one is it?"

“Well, at first all signs pointed to the girlfriend, but now we see that the signs actually point to the father.” Jane replied easily.

“Really,” Lisbon replied sarcastically. “How so?”

“Well,” Jane began and pointed to Mia to continue.

 “When we were in Avery’s bed room we eavesdropped on one of their conversations.” Mia said a little timidly with a rosy blush as she remembered hiding in the closet.

“And?” Lisbon prompted.

“Well, Avery seemed like she was genuinely grieving with her boyfriend, not pretending.” Mia said. “Plus, the fact that Peter didn’t know that they were dating, that would give him motive to kill Zavier.”

“But he killed Stella, not Zavier.” Lisbon replied.

“What if he meant to kill Zavier and killed Stella by mistake.” Jane spoke up with his know it all grin.

“Wait, so you’re saying that Peter got over protective and wanted to kill Zavier from the start, but killed Stella by mistake?” Lisbon asked. “That’s absurd.”

“Not really,” Mia replied. “What if he just wanted to catch Zavier alone and have a talk with him, but took a gun just in case.”

“Why would he do that if he were talking to a teenager, who was completely harmless?” Lisbon asked. She was getting tired of going around in circles.

“Because Mr Lancaster is a frightened and paranoid man,” Jane replied smoothly. “That’s why he took the gun, but he was taken by surprise when Stella walked into the shed and he shot her on impulse.”

“But why would Stella be in the shed so late at night?” Lisbon asked tiredly.

“Because she was painting,” Mia replied confidently. “There were oil paints and paintings in her shed. That was her hobby.”

Lisbon looked to Jane as they both seemed puzzled by this news.

“OK, I admit I didn’t know that part, but I knew everything else.” Jane said triumphantly.

“That’s a good theory you two, but we don’t have proof.” Daniel said as he walked into the room out of nowhere.

“Yes we do,” Cho began as he walked up to the group of people. “We found a gun in Peter’s house that has been proved by ballistics to be the gun that killed Stella Brand.”

“Thanks Cho,” Lisbon replied distractedly. “Why don’t you guys go and pick him up.”

“On it boss,” Cho replied as he gathered Van Pelt and Rigsby.       

The two consultants sat on the couch and awaited further commands while both Daniel and Lisbon stood speechless.

“Well, I guess the case is solved then.” Daniel replied as he still stood with confusion clear on his features. “Well done Agent Lisbon, we’ll be in touch.”

Daniel shook Lisbon’s hand and rounded up his team who had come in while Cho, Van Pelt and Rigsby had been on their way out.

“I’m watching you,” Lisbon said as she walked to her office. “Both of you.”

Jane and Mia both sat and took in a deep breath as they felt the slow rise of success make their bellies warm.

“I think we should celebrate our victory,” Jane said as he stood. “Would you join me for some eggs and a drink?”

Mia looked at Jane’s hand as he held it out to her.

“Well,” Mia began, drawing the one syllable word out as much as possible. “I suppose I could since my date cancelled tonight.”

Mia took Jane’s hand and he helped her up. They both started walking towards the old, faithful elevator.

“So, earlier today,” Mia began timidly. “You know, when we were hiding in the closet… You looked like you were gonna kiss me.”  

Jane seemed to think as they stood in the elevator.

“Well, it might’ve happened, but I don’t particularly remember…” Jane replied playfully.

“Whatever, at least I get a free meal and a drink.” Mia said as she swatted Jane on the arm.

“Yeah,” Jane replied. “Aren’t you lucky your imaginary date cancelled on you?”

Mia scoffed as the elevator dinged and indicated that they were on the ground floor.

“He was not imaginary,” Mia said as they started walking towards Jane’s little, blue Citroen. “He was a narcissistic pig who thought I would be a good lover, so I cancelled our date.”

The two walked over to Jane’s car and just stood in the cool breeze as the sun set behind them.

“OK,” Jane replied. “I’ll believe you this time, but only because of these five text messages on your phone that all keep repeating the same thing. ‘Please take me back, I promise I’ll treat you right, Bob.’ Really, who dates someone named Bob?”

Mia was fuming as she replied, “Number one, he was cute and number two, give me my phone back!”

“Once we get to the restaurant I will,” Jane replied as he got into his car. “I’m surprised you didn’t feel me pick your pocket.”

“Maybe I was too busy focusing on picking yours.” Mia replied cheekily as she lifted up Jane’s keys and wallet.

_**She’s gonna be a handful,**_ Jane thought to himself. _**But at least this’ll be fun!**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 

 It had been two whole months since Jane and Mia had first met.

Wow... Time flies...

For two months since their first meal and case together, they had been getting together on a regular basis. Sometimes lunch, sometimes dinner, and even a movie once.

Jane actually quite enjoyed hanging out with Mia and the two started slowly getting closer.

It didn't bug Jane that he and Mia saw each other practically every day.

At least it didn't until today...

xxxxx

“You know that when two people have been seeing each other on a regular basis for so long, it’s usually considered dating.” Van Pelt said to Jane as he lay on his couch.

“But we’re not dating, because we don’t do all the mushy, romantic couples stuff.” Jane replied with his eyes still closed.

“It can still be considered dating though.” Van Pelt replied as she turned back to her computer.

“Grace is right you know,” Rigsby replied as he joined in the conversation. “You don’t have to do all that stuff. Just being with each other a lot and going to dinner can be considered dating.”

"But we don't consider it dating." Jane replied as he sat up so he could get a better view of the three agents.

"Other people might," Cho replied without lifting his eyes from his book.

"But we don't, so it doesn't matter." Jane replied with a smirk.

"We're just warning you so you don't freak out if anyone hints towards dating." Rigsby replied.

"Why would I freak out?" Jane asked incredulously. "Patrick Jane doesn't freak out."

“We’re just saying,” Van Pelt replied. “Besides, you don’t know what Mia thinks of your relationship.”

Jane seemed to think about what Van Pelt had just said.

Did Mia think they were dating?

“Thank you guys,” Jane finally said as he stood from his seat. “I appreciate your concern. I’ll see you later; I have some errands to run.

The three agents shared a look as they all thought the same thing.

Jane was going to see Mia.

xxxxx

Jane walked up to the receptionist whose name he knew all too well by now.

“Good morning Marge,” Jane greeted with his signature smile. “Is Mia here?”

“You’re in luck Patrick,” Marge smiled warmly. “She just sauntered into the bullpen.”

“Thank you Marge,” Jane replied as he started making his way towards the tiny office of Mia’s teammates.

“Good morning everyone,” Jane said as he walked up to the cramped desks of Alistair, Lisa, and David. “Have any of you seen Mia?”

“She’s right here.” Mia said as she walked into the room.

“Hello Mia,” Jane replied as Mia walked over to him.

“Morning Jane,” Mia was about to hug him when he suddenly pulled away.

“Um, would you like to go and get some tea?” Jane asked awkwardly.

“Um, sure,” Mia replied hesitantly. “Tea sounds good.”

“Let’s go then,” Jane said as he motioned for Mia to walk ahead of him, waving to the detectives while Mia passed by.

They went to a lovely cafe that, according to Jane made the best eggs.

They were sitting sipping their tea in silence when Mia suddenly asked, “Are you OK?”

Jane turned to Mia with a confused expression and replied, “Of course, why do you ask?”

“You just seem a little bit off today, that’s all.” Mia replied as she took a sip of her tea.

“What do you mean ‘off’?” Jane asked curiously.

“Well,” Mia began timidly. “I just feel like you’re looking everywhere but at me.”

Jane seemed confused at what Mia had just said.

“Did I do something wrong?” Mia asked sadly.

“No, no,” Jane began hurriedly as he looked into Mia’s eyes and took her hand. “Of course not, you didn’t do anything.”

 “Good,” Mia replied with a relieved sigh. “For a minute there I thought you were mad at me.”

Jane had a mild grin as he let go of Mia’s hand and looked out towards the other patrons in the cafe.

“Are you sure everything is OK?” Mia asked again as she tried to look at Jane’s face.

“Well,” Jane began timidly. “How do you see our relationship?”

“What do you mean?” Mia asked curiously.

“Well, because we’ve been seeing each other so much, some people think we’re dating.” Jane replied as he looked towards Mia again.

“Really?” Mia asked incredulously. “Who?”

“Grace, Cho and Rigsby,” Jane replied.

 Mia gave a little chuckle as she replied, “So? They are probably just yanking your chain.”

“What if they aren’t?” Jane asked as he looked suddenly serious. “What if they aren’t the only ones that think we’re dating?”

“Who cares?” Mia replied. “What we do is our business and our business alone.”

Jane gave a brief nod and they sat in silence again as they finished their tea.

“What did you tell them when they asked?” Mia eventually asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

“Well, I told them the truth,” Jane replied. “That we aren’t dating.”

“Oh,” Mia replied plainly.

“Why?” Jane asked. “Do you want us to date?”

“What?” Mia spluttered. “No, what would make you think that?”

“Nothing,” Jane replied with his hands raised in a sign of surrender. “You just seemed disappointed when I said that we weren’t dating.”

“Oh,” Mia replied.

The conversation was left at that and Jane and Mia paid for their tea and left.

xxxxx

Another day, another case with a deranged husband who swears he murdered for love.

_**These cases are really starting to repeat themselves,**_ Jane thought to himself as he sat on his couch and stared aimlessly into the distance. _**I wonder if Mia’s case went well.**_   

Jane pulled out his phone and searched for Mia in his contacts.

He stood and started pacing as he dialled Mia’s phone. The bull pen was empty, but Jane still felt a little nervous as his and Mia’s last conversation didn’t really end well. 

“Mia speaking,” Mia said through the phone over some fairly loud country music.

“Hi Mia,” Jane began with a confused expression. “Where are you?” 

“Oh,” Mia replied with a tiny little slur as she realized it was Jane on the phone. “I’m at one of the local bars.”

“Why are you at a bar?” Jane asked with a little bit of concern.

“Well, the latest case was pretty tough, so I thought I would take the team out for some drinks.” Mia replied.

“Are the team still there with you?” Jane asked as he faced towards the elevator.

“Well, David already left, but Lisa and Alistair are still here,” There was a brief pause. “And they are definitely drunk.”

Jane gave a sigh as he asked, “What about you? Are you OK?”

“I’m fine,” Mia insisted. “I’ve only had two or three drinks, just to be polite.”

Jane was debating whether or not he should actually go to the bar and get Mia before she had more than the ‘polite’ dose of alcohol.

“OK, um, why don’t I come and pick you up,” Jane said. “Just to be safe.”

“I guess,” Mia replied hesitantly. “Besides, my car is still at HQ.”

  “OK,” Jane replied as he grabbed his keys and suit coat. “Stay put I’ll be right there.”

Jane ended the call and started making his way towards the elevator.

“She better not be drunk, or I’m in _**big**_ trouble.” Jane said as he pushed the button for the ground floor.

xxxxx

Jane pulled up to the bar whose address Mia had sent to him in a text. It was actually quite a popular bar.

Jane walked through the doors and immediately saw Mia watching her team mates make a fool of themselves on the dance floor.

“Mia,” Jane said as he walked up to her. “Are you OK?”

Mia scoffed as she replied, “Of course, I’m fine. But Alistair and Lisa aren’t going to be when Daniel finds out about what they did here tonight.”

“Yes well at least they aren’t our problem at the moment,” Jane began as he tried to urge Mia to come with him. “Let’s go.”

“Calm down, I’m having fun,” Mia began as she pulled out a barstool. “You just need a drink.”

“No thanks” Jane replied as he declined Mia’s offer. “I’m fine, but you’re not. We need to get you home.”  

“Oh come on,” Mia began as she refused to move and ordered two more drinks. “Just one drink won’t do you any harm.

“Alright,” Jane finally surrendered. “ _ **One**_ drink.”

 xxxxx

 It was almost one in the morning and Jane and Mia were still laughing and having fun at the bar.

“What time is it?” Mia asked with a slur as she leaned her head on Jane’s shoulder after a particularly tiring laughing fit.

“Ugh, it’s about one in the morning,” Jane replied. “Or twelve forty-five whichever way you wanna look at it.” 

“Hmm,” Mia sighed as she looked at her phone. “Yeah, we should probably get going.”

“Probably,” Jane replied with a slur.

“How are we gonna leave though?” Mia asked. “Neither of us can drive.”

“I can,” Jan replied incredulously. “I’m not _**that**_ drunk.”

“Of course not,” Mia replied sarcastically. “That’s why you laughed when I said ‘monkey’”

Jane suddenly burst out laughing at that simple word. Mia eventually joined in his laughter.

“OK fine,” Jane finally replied as he wiped the tears from his eyes. “We’ll call a cab.”

Jane and Mia clumsily stood from their seats at the bar and made sure they didn’t leave anything behind.

“Wait,” Mia said as she pulled Jane’s arm. “Where did Lisa and Alistair go?”

“Oh, they left about an hour ago,” Jane replied. “And by the way they were acting I’d say they were heading for the nearest hotel.”

“Hmm, I actually didn’t need to know that.” Mia replied as she and Jane walked out into the cool air.

Jane called for a taxicab and the two of them waited outside.

“What about your car?” Mia asked suddenly.

“Don’t worry; I’ll pick it up tomorrow.” Jane replied. “It’ll be safe.”

“No one would steal it anyway.” Mia replied with a chuckle. “It’s a piece of junk!”

“It is not,” Jane retaliated. “It’s a classic.”

“Classic, junk,” Mia replied. “Potato, tomato.”

Jane just shook his head as they stood in silence once again.

“Thank you for coming to get me,” Mia said meekly. “That was really sweet of you.”

“Anytime,” Jane replied as he turned to look at Mia.

They both started leaning closer as they had many months ago, but this time they weren’t interrupted.

Their lips met in a tentative kiss that was truly the kind to be considered a first kiss.

But soon the effects of the alcohol and their slight sexual tension got the better of them and the kiss turned needy.

Jane’s hands went around Mia’s waist and hers around his neck.

Jane suddenly became very brave thanks to the alcohol in his system and lifted the hem of Mia’s T-shirt, running his hands along her bare skin.

At that moment the taxicab pulled up and the driver gave an impatient hoot.

“We’ll finish this at your place,” Jane said breathlessly as he and Mia pulled apart.

“Ditto,” Mia replied as she pulled Jane towards the taxi.

xxxxx

As soon as the taxi pulled up to Mia’s apartment Jane and Mia were fumbling through the door to get inside.

Jane had Mia in his arms, straddling his hips as he carried her into the apartment.

“Sorry about the mess,” Mia said breathlessly as she broke away briefly. “I just moved in a while back.”

“That’s OK,” Jane replied as he kissed Mia again. “We’ll only be needing the bedroom."

Jane carried Mia all the way to her room and shut the door behind him as they collapsed on the bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to add that I don't believe that premarital sex is right and that alcohol never solves anything... but they do call it fiction for a reason so for now it's fine.
> 
> Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 

Mia awoke with a groan as the bright sunlight filtered through the gap in the curtains and onto her face.

Mia shut her eyes tightly as the feeling slowly started coming back to her limbs and her head started pounding.

She could remember well enough _**why**_ she had a headache, but she couldn't understand why there was a slight pressure on her stomach.

As Mia started thinking about what it could be, a groan resonated from somewhere next to her.

Mia slowly opened her eyes as she turned her head and came face to face with the blond man who had been on her mind lately.

Suddenly the memories from the night before came flooding into Mia's mind. She remembered being at the bar and getting drunk with Jane, but she remembered most what had happened when they had left the bar.

With a blush Mia started silently panicking as she realised that the weight on her stomach was actually Jane's hand and that both of them were wearing no clothes whatsoever. Mia was trying to think of a way to silently sneak out of bed without waking Jane when he started slowly opening his eyes. As soon crystal blue met hazel, Jane gave a small smile.

"Morning gorgeous," Jane greeted with a raspy sleep filled voice.

"Morning," Mia replied hesitantly. "You do remember what happened last night, right?"

"Sort of," Jane replied. "Some of the details are still a little fuzzy though."

"Same here." Mia replied.

They lay in silence for a while as Jane's eyes started getting used to the lighting.

"Do you regret it?" Mia asked tentatively.

"Do you?" Jane replied softly.

Immediately Mia started closing up again as she tried to get up, but decided against it as her head pounded more with the movement.

"You know what," Mia began as she scrunched up her nose in pain. "Let's just forget any of this ever happened."

"No, Mia, wait," Jane began as he too sat up with a sharp pain in his head. "Let's just talk about this."

"What is there to talk about?" Mia asked dejectedly. "This was just a drunken mistake."

"No it wasn't," Jane replied. "We may not have set out to become lovers, but we became friends."

"Yeah, but this could ruin that friendship." Mia replied sadly.

"Or," Jane began as he took Mia's hand in his. "This could make it stronger."

Mia heaved a sigh as she replied, "But what if it doesn't?"

"Well," Jane replied. "We'll never know if we never try."

"Are you sure?" Mia asked with uncertainty and defeat in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Jane asked with confusion.

"What about your ring?" Mia asked as she fingered Jane's ring. "What about your promise to them?" Jane and Mia had briefly discussed Jane's past on one of their first lunches together. Jane hadn't said much, but he had told Mia that he still wore his ring to remind himself of Angela and Charlotte and his promise to avenge their deaths.

Jane heaved a sigh before he replied, "I think it's time for me to move on."

"Look, I don't want you to do this because of me." Mia replied hastily.

"But I want to," Jane replied as he looked into Mia's eyes. "They've been gone for years now. Besides, they would want me to move on. I realise that now."

Mia gave a small smile as Jane lifted his hand and took his ring off.

"Here," Jane said as he showed the ring to Mia. "I want you to have this."

"Why?" Mia asked with confusion as she looked at the gold band.

"Wear it as a sign to show that you are the one that I chose to move on with." Jane replied as he put the ring on Mia's finger.

"But won't everyone notice that I'm wearing your ring and ask why?" Mia asked as she admired the ring.

"So what if they do?" Jane replied nonchalantly. "It's none of their business anyway."

Mia gave a giggle as she held her left hand up to admire the golden band of promise.

Mia suddenly threw her arms around Jane's neck in a hug, but pulled back with embarrassment when she realized that she had no clothes on.

As Mia pulled the bed sheets tighter around herself, Jane rubbed his temples and asked, "Now that we've sorted that out, do you have any Tylenol?"

**xxxxx**

It was a good thing it was Saturday, so Jane and Mia had the whole day to recover from their hangovers.

Needless to say they used a _**lot**_ of Tylenol and enjoyed the silence throughout Mia's apartment.

Other than that, they made the most of their Saturday and enjoyed the Honeymoon Phase of their relationship.

Sunday was very much the same except for the fact that they were both sober that day.

However, when Sunday evening came along, the happy, loving feeling was dampened a little.

"So," Mia began as she and Jane lay in bed that night. "Are we going to tell our team members and bosses about our relationship?"

"I don't think so," Jane replied simply as he ran his fingers along Mia's forearm. "Why should we? We're not breaking any rules, plus it's no one's business."

Mia hummed in agreement as she contentedly closed her eyes.

"Besides," Jane began with a cheeky grin. "It'll be sexier and more exciting if we keep it to ourselves."

"Hmm," Mia replied dreamily. "Agreed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

 

Monday came faster than either of them would have liked. They did enjoy a semi romantic weekend. Although, they did spend most of it upstairs in Mia's bedroom.

“I hate getting up and going to work,” Mia said as she lay with her head on Jane’s bare chest.

“Me too,” Jane replied. “But we have to go.”

It was only four in the morning as Jane and Mia lay and looked at the ceiling. Apparently Mia also suffered from insomnia, but her nightmares were somewhat different.

“I hope we don’t have another clichéd case today.” Jane said as he played with a strand of Mia’s hair.

“Yeah,” Mia replied absentmindedly. “As long as there are no angry lovers I’m OK.” 

They sat in silence again, just listening to the occasional car that drove past.

“What are you gonna wear to work today?” Jane asked as he turned so that he was facing Mia.

“I don’t know,” Mia replied as she brushed a stray curl from Jane’s forehead. “Maybe just a plain tee and some jeans.”

Jane hummed in agreement as he leaned closer and pecked her lightly on the lips. But before Jane could pull away, Mia snaked her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

After they pulled away, Mia reached over Jane’s shoulder to pick up the little black clock that stood on the nightstand.

The clock read 04:15 and Mia gave a groan as she dropped the clock back down heavily.

Jane pulled Mia against his chest and tucked her head underneath his chin as he heaved a sigh.

“Why do you have to be so gorgeous?” Jane asked plainly which earned a desired giggle from Mia.

“I’m not the only gorgeous one,” Mia replied. “I’m sure lots of women will agree.”

Jane gave a chuckle that vibrated warmly through his chest and was music to Mia’s ears.

Mia pulled back and gave Jane a kiss before pulling away and asking, “Tea?”

“Always,” Jane replied with his megawatt grin as Mia stood before him in only her underwear.

**xxxxx**

After they had spent another couple of hours together trying to get ready for work, Mia and Jane said their goodbyes and headed to their separate work places.

When Jane arrived he found that his colleagues had already started on their morning workload.

"Good morning everyone," Jane greeted with a wide grin.

"Morning Jane," came the chorus of replies from the three uninterested agents.

"You sound like you had a good weekend," Van Pelt said as she lifted her eyes from her computer screen.

"Well," Jane replied as he walked over to his couch. "The weekend was quite enjoyable."

"What did you do?" Rigsby asked suspiciously.

"Nothing out of the ordinary." Jane replied with an innocent smirk.

"Whatever," Cho said as he took his latest novel out of his bag. "As long as it doesn't involve me, I'm good."

Jane settled down on his couch and closed his eyes as he thought about a certain Sac PD consultant who had decided to wear a shirt that went perfectly with her eyes.

Lisbon suddenly came out of her office and walked over to Van Pelt who handed her some paperwork.

Before Lisbon went back to her office, she went over to Jane's couch and greeted him.

"Morning Jane," Lisbon began. "You look awfully chipper today."

"I just had a good weekend, that's all." Jane replied without opening his eyes.

"Really?" Lisbon replied suspiciously. "What did you do?"

"Oh nothing," Jane replied with a slight yawn. "Some poetry here, a good cup of tea there."

"Whatever," Lisbon replied as she started making her way back to her office.

Just then Jane's phone started ringing in his pocket.

He took it out and checked the caller ID to see that it was in fact Mia calling him.

"Hola Senorita," Jane answered in perfect Spanish.

"There's no time for jokes now Patrick," Mia replied hastily. "We have a slight problem."

"What problem would that be?" Jane asked curiously.

"We have another case and Sac PD has to work with CBI."

"What's wrong with that?" Jane asked.

"Well," Mia replied a little angrily. "It might have something to do with the fact that we recently started dating."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked incredulously. "We're not breaking any rules."

"That's not the point." Mia said tiredly. "Every time I see you, I can't help but blush and feel like kissing you, you dork."

Jane gave a chuckle as he heard the slight humor in Mia's voice.

"Well, I guess that's not very professional." Jane said as he sat up his couch.

"Duh," Mia replied matter-of-factly.

"Don't worry," Jane replied. "We'll figure something out."

"OK," Mia replied with a sigh. "See you soon."

"You too." Jane replied as he ended the phone call.

Just a Jane put his phone in his pocket Lisbon emerged from her office and announced, "Guys, we have a case."

**xxxxx**

Jane, Lisbon, Grace, Rigsby, and Cho pulled up to the bridge by the river that had become their latest crime scene.

Jane, Lisbon, and Cho walked over to Daniel Reese as he conversed with his right hand man, David Flood.

"Morning Agents," Daniel began. "And Jane. How are you all doing today, aside from the obvious?"

"We're all good, but I'm sure we're not the only ones who want this solved." Lisbon replied with a brief business like grin.

"Of course," Daniel replied. "Our victim is twenty-five year old Jessica Holden. She was found here this morning by a couple going for their morning jog."

"Cause of death?" Cho asked.

"Suffocation," Daniel replied as he led them over to the body. "We're not sure whether she drowned or if someone else strangled her."

"It doesn't look like she was strangled." Jane said as he bent down next to the body and started looking for clues.

Jane looked at Jessica's hands and feet and crawled over from the women's right side to her left.

While he was doing this Lisbon wiped a hand over her face and said somewhat apologetically, "Sorry, we don't train the consultants."

"Don't worry," Daniel replied as he watched Jane. "Mia did exactly the same thing earlier."

"At least we're not the only ones with a weird consultant." David Flood said as he wrote a few things in his notebook.

Jane stood from his crouch next to the body and came to stand by the four law enforcers.

"Well?" Lisbon asked after minute of silence.

"Oh, nothing important," Jane replied with a small smile. "Where's Mia?"

This last question was directed towards Daniel and David.

"Um, she was talking to the joggers over there." David replied as he pointed towards a large, black truck.

"Thank you," Jane plainly replied as he started walking towards the truck, leaving an annoyed Lisbon to discuss with Daniel a little more.

Jane strolled towards the truck, but only saw the joggers and a few crime scene personnel... no Mia.

Jane had a puzzled look as he stood next to the truck and scanned the area with his eyes.

What he wasn't expecting was for someone to come up behind him and encircle his middle with their delicate, slender arms.

Jane put his hands over those belonging to the unknown 'hugger' and turned around to face them.

"Hello again," Jane said a he leaned down to kiss Mia.

But Jane's lips met with the soft skin of Mia's cheek, not his intended target.

Jane pulled back and looked into Mia's eyes with a question in his own.

"We're at work," Mia replied plainly, yet reassuringly as she ghosted he fingers over his slightly stubbled cheek.

Jane gave a nod of understanding as he asked, "So, what do you think so far?"

The two of them started slowly making their way towards the edge of the river bank.

"Well, I know she played an instrument," Mia replied with hands in pockets. "Probably guitar or violin, maybe even piano. Plus, she was a painter."

"How do you know she was a painter?" Jane asked curiously. "I didn't see any paint on her hands."

"She had thinners on her fingers." Mia replied plainly. "Painters use the thinners to transfer the pattern they want onto their canvas."

"Huh, I guess I should've smelt her fingers." Jane replied with a small smile as they arrived on the soft sand of the fresh water bank.

"What did you find?" Mia asked as she crouched down beside the flowing water.

"Nothing that you didn't mention already." Jane replied as he looked around the nearby bushes and undergrowth.

"Hmm," Mia replied with an expression of confusion. "Well I think I've found something else."

Mia looked around her as if searching for something on the ground. Jane looked puzzled as he tried to see what Mia had found.

"Babe, could you hand me a long stick or something?" Mia asked as she stood from her position on the ground.

"Sure thing babe," Jane replied with a smug grin.

"Just hand me a stick." Mia said with annoyance, but her small smile dulled the bite in her sarcastic words.

Jane handed Mia a stick that was lying at his feet and watched as she twirled the end of it around in the water.

When she pulled the stick out it was covered in a pink substance that smelled odd.

"What is that?" Jane asked as he stood next to Mia and smelt the pink stuff.

"It's paint," Mia replied as she examined the end of the stick. "Someone must've dumped it from upstream, because there's more over there."

Mia pointed towards a multi colored blob that floated on the surface of the water.

"A lot more." Jane replied as he and Mia walked over to the blob.

"I wonder what we'll find if we follow the river upstream." Mia said as she threw her pink stick into the bushes.

"Why don't we find out?" Jane said with a mischievous grin as he grabbed Mia's hand and started pulling her up the trail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

 

Mia and Jane had been walking for about ten minutes and hadn't found anything.

The trail was beautiful and the scenery was amazing, but they weren't on a tour.

"I really don't think we're gonna find anything." Mia said with an exasperated sigh.

"Let's just keep going and see what we find." Jane replied as he carried on walking.

"Patrick," Mia said tiredly as she stood and didn't even attempt to follow behind Jane.

Jane turned to Mia and walked over to her to stroke her cheek. He looked into her eyes and gave a small smile as he leant down and kissed her softly.

Mia returned the kiss, but it remained sweet as she put her hand on his chest.

However, the romantic moment was cut off by a rustling in the bushes. Mia and Jane both jumped at the sound and Mia pulled Jane closer to her.

"What was that?" Mia asked as she pressed herself tightly against Jane's chest.

"I don't know," Jane replied calmly as he rubbed soothing circles on Mia's back. "But I think it came from over there."

Jane started moving towards the sound, pulling a reluctant Mia along with him.

They looked through the bushes and found a little clearing right near the edge of the river bank. There was a dark figure holding a huge metal can over the water of the river. He was pouring what seemed to be paint into the clear water.

"Stop," Jane said loudly as he and Mia burst out of the bushes. "Police."

The figure got such a fright when he heard Jane's voice that he turned and dropped the huge tub of paint directly onto his foot.

The figure started jumping up and down in pain, causing his hoodie to fall away and reveal a middle-aged face that was contorted in pain.

"Ouch!" The man yelled with an angry face. "What's the big idea?!"

"I'm Patrick Jane," Jane said as he showed his little CBI card. "And this is Mia Black, we're consultants for the police."

"Consultants?" The man asked as he stood hunched over in pain.

"Yes," Jane replied.

"What were you doing with that paint?" Mia asked as she found her voice once again.

"I was getting rid of it." The man replied as he limped over to a nearby tree stump and sat. "There's no other way to get rid of it out here in the forest."

"Obviously you haven't been to the outside world recently." Mia replied with a slightly angry look. "You could have killed a lot of animals."

"Whatever," The man replied. "I was just doing what my boss told me to do."

"Who is your boss?" Jane asked as the man started rubbing his injured foot.

"Madam Bortacelli." The man replied with a somewhat condescending tone of voice. "She runs the art school up on the hill."

"Art school?" Mia asked with curiosity.

"Yeah," The man replied. "Madam Bortacelli's Art Academy is just up the path."

"Would you mind showing us the way?" Jane asked with his charming smile.

"Well, I have to get back to work, so I might as well show y'all the way."

"Thank you," Mia replied as the man stood from his stump and started limping up the pathway.

"Are you up for some art lessons?" Jane asked with a cheeky grin.

"Depends," Mia replied. "Do you even know how to hold a paint brush?"

At that Jane scoffed in mock horror as Mia started jogging up the hill.

**xxxxx**

They reached the large, multi-colored building with a fancy sign that read 'Madam Bortacelli's Art Academy'.

Mia and Jane thanked the man who had shown them the way and walked up to the huge doors.

Jane opened the door and followed in behind Mia.

Soothing classical music was playing throughout the reception area as Jane and Mia walked up to the long desk that seated a woman who was typing away on her computer.

"Welcome to Madam Bortacelli's Art Academy, how can I help you?" The woman asked with a sugar sweet tone as she momentarily stopped typing to face Jane and Mia.

"We are looking for the woman herself." Jane replied. "We work for the police."

"I'll get her right away," The receptionist replied as she stood and walked off in the direction of what Jane assumed was the Madam's office.

Jane and Mia were left by themselves as the hum of the current song died down.

"She seems like a woman who is very concerned about her reputation." Mia said suddenly.

"Hmm, I agree." Jane replied as he came up behind Mia, who was inspecting a painting, and put his arms around her middle.

Mia gave a small smile as she turned her head to face Jane. Mia put her head in the crook of Jane's neck as he too looked at the painting.

"Too bad most of her paintings are fakes." Jane said.

Mia's head shot up as she asked astoundedly, "What?!"

"Yeah," Jane replied calmly. "This painting has a shovel that's not supposed to be there."

Jane pointed to the little silver object on the canvas.

"How did I miss that?" Mia asked incredulously. "I used to love this painting when I was in high school. There was a printed copy of it that used to sit in the music class."

Jane gave a small smile at Mia's tone.

"It was quite a while back." Jane replied as he kissed Mia on the cheek.

"Yeah, but the image was stored in my memory palace." Mia replied.

"You have a memory palace too?" Jane asked.

"Yeah," Mia replied as she turned to look at Jane. "I recently opened a room named Patrick Jane."

Jane gave a small smile and was about to kiss Mia when Madam Bortacelli walked in and said, "Ah you must be with the police. How can I help you?"

Jane and Mia quickly pulled apart and walked over the woman who seemed to be in her late twenties to early thirties.

"Hi, I'm Patrick Jane and this is Mia Black. We are consultants for the police and we were wondering if you knew someone named Jessica Holden?" Jane asked.

"Yes, Jessica was one of my best students." Madam Bortacelli replied.

"Did you see her at all today?" Mia asked.

"Um yes, she dropped by to pick up some art equipment that she had ordered." Madam Bortacelli replied easily. "Is she alright?"

"Her body was found this morning in the river that runs behind your art studio." Jane replied.

Madam Bortacelli's face paled as Jane spoke. Tears started welling in her eyes, but Mia wasn't sure whether the tears were put on or real.

"How? Why?" Madam Bortacelli asked as she walked over to a nearby chair and collapsed heavily onto it.

"We don't know yet," Mia replied. "It's still an on-going investigation."

"But I don't understand," Madam Bortacelli continued. "She was standing right in front of me just this morning. She was like a daughter to me."

Jane and Mia shared a brief look as Madam Bortacelli gave a little sniffle next to them.

"Ma'am, we need to know if Jessica seemed different when you saw her this morning." Jane asked. "Did she seem upset or paranoid this morning?"

"Um, no, she seemed fine when I spoke to her." Madam Bortacelli replied as she wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Good," Jane replied.

"Did you ask your grounds keeper to dump used paint into the river this morning?" Mia added suddenly.

"What? No!" Madam Bortacelli replied, outraged. "I would never endanger the environment! I've told him so many times not to dump the paint in the river. He could harm thousands of poor animals."

Mia reached over and squeezed Jane's hand briefly to indicate that she was done talking.

"Thank you for your time Madam Bortacelli, we'll let you know as soon as we find anything." Jane said as he started pushing Mia towards the exit.

Madam Bortacelli remained seated as Jane and Mia exited the large building.

"She did it," Mia said plainly as she and Jane started walking back down the path towards the crime scene.

"I think so too," Jane replied as he took Mia's hand in his to help her climb over a large rock. "But how about we get a nice cup of tea before we slap them cuffs onto the wrists of her well-manicured fingers."

"Sure, I could use a cup of tea." Mia replied with a smile as she hugged Jane close to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

 

 Mia and Jane has just arrived back at CBI and were heading towards Lisbon's office to inform her who the killer was.

"Where have you two been?" Lisbon asked angrily as Jane led Mia into the agent's office.

"We were having a cup of tea and formulating a plan to catch the killer." Jane replied easily as he and Mia sat on the couch, rather closely.

"How could you possibly know who the killer is?" Lisbon asked in frustration. "You didn't speak to any of the witnesses or suspects."

"Ah, but we did my dear Lisbon," Jane replied with his signature smile. "We spoke to Jessica's art teacher."

"How did you know she did art or even had a teacher?" Lisbon asked.

"I smelt the thinners on her fingers." Mia replied before Jane could speak.

"But how did you find the art teacher?" Lisbon retorted.

"We found a trail of paint in the river that led us towards the art studio." Jane replied.

"Yeah, well we don't have solid evidence yet." Mia added as she turned to look at Jane. "But we think that maybe Jessica found out about the paint in the river and decided to confront Madam Bortacelli, the art teacher, and the self centered woman killed Jessica in a fit of rage."

Lisbon was speechless as she took in all of the information.

Jane and Mia simply sat on the couch with triumphant looks upon their faces.

"What did you say the art teacher's name was again?" Lisbon asked with a sigh as she grabbed a pen and a piece of paper.

"Madam Bortacelli," Both Mia and Jane replied in unison.

"Alright, I'll have Rigsby and Cho check it out." Lisbon replied as she waved them away.

Jane and Mia walked out of Lisbon's office and headed to the attic instead of the bullpen.

"We are so right," Mia commented as she collapsed heavily on Jane's make-shift bed.

"I can already smell the closed-case pizza." Jane replied as he lay down next to Mia.

"With extra cheese," Mia replied with a giggle as Jane leant down and pecked her on the lips.

Mia wasn't keen on the idea of just a simple peck, so she pulled Jane's face back down to hers and kissed him deeply.

Jane placed his hand on Mia's hip as she ran her fingers through his silken curls and came to rest her hands on his cheeks.

The kiss carried on until they had to desperately part for air.

"I am so glad I met you," Jane said with a smile as he brought his hand up and stroked Mia's cheek. "You are amazingly gorgeous and perfect."

"I wish," Mia scoffed as she looked into Jane's crystal eyes. “If I were perfect I would probably be in Hollywood or something."

"Ah, but then you would never have met me," Jane replied with a grin as he pecked Mia again.

"Too true," Mia replied with a sigh as she and Jane continued where they left off.

**xxxxx**

Jane and Mia eventually went down to the bullpen after stopping for a cup of tea on the way to Jane's couch.

The two consultants settled into the worn leather side by side and carried on a silent conversation as the buzz of the busy bullpen continued.

Van Pelt stood from her seat behind her desk and walked over to Cho and Rigsby’s desks with a small smile.

"Psst, guys," Van Pelt whispered as she came closer. "Is it just me, or do Jane and Mia seem closer, like a lot?"

Cho and Rigsby glanced over to the two consultants in question as shared a glance.

"I guess," Rigsby replied.

"What about you Cho?" Van Pelt asked with a grin.

"They're definitely sleeping together." Cho replied in his typical monotone voice.

"Do you really think so?" Van Pelt asked excitedly.

"What does it matter Grace?" Rigsby as curiously.

"Duh," Grace replied. "That would mean that Jane has finally moved on."

"Oh," Rigsby replied, stretching the one syllable word.

"Yeah," Grace replied, copying Rigsby's tone.

"But there's no way he would've forgotten about Red John." Rigsby replied.

"So what," Grace retorted. "He finally looks happy."

Suddenly a laugh came from the old worn leather couch. The agents turned to see both Mia and Jane laughing to themselves as Mia placed her head on Jane's shoulder.

At that moment Lisbon came out of her office and saw that her agents weren't working.

"Guys, we need to go and check out the art teacher," Lisbon said as she craned her neck to see what the other three were looking at.

Van Pelt seemed to wake up as she heard her boss' voice. She turned towards Lisbon quickly as she replied, "Right away boss."

Van Pelt slammed her file down on Rigsby's desk, effectively getting his and Cho's attention.

"Let's go guys," Van Pelt said as she motioned for the two men to follow her.

They grabbed their gear and quickly made their way to the elevator.

Lisbon walked over to the couch where Jane and Mia had continued their silent conversation.

"I have to go and discuss the case with Daniel," Lisbon said as she came to stand in front of the two consultants. “You guys coming?"

Jane was about to decline when Mia said, "Yeah, I should be getting back to Sac PD anyway."

"Alright, I'll meet you guys in the parking lot," Lisbon replied as she started making her way back to her office.

As soon as Lisbon's door had clicked shut, Jane turned to Mia and said, "Can't you stay a little bit longer?"

"I wish I could," Mia replied as she placed her hand on Jane's cheek. "But I have to spend time with my team as well."

"I understand," Jane replied. "You don't want the kids to start feeling neglected."

Mia smiled as she kissed Jane sweetly and said, "I'm glad you understand."

Jane stood from his seat and reached out his hands to pull Mia off of the couch.

The two walked side by side to the elevator and made their way to the parking lot.

After all, they had another killer to catch.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 

 After Jane and Lisbon had dropped Mia off, they headed to the art studio to talk to Madam Bortaccelli.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Lisbon said as she and Jane walked up to the big doors.

“Please Lisbon,” Jane replied. “I was here earlier.”

They walked in and were met by yelling voices coming from somewhere inside of the art studio.

Lisbon drew her gun as she and Jane ran towards the direction of the commotion.

“What the hell is going on here?!” Lisbon yelled as she and Jane burst into the room, her with her gun raised.

Madam Bortacelli and the man that had showed Jane and Mia the way were both standing in the room. Madam Bortacelli had a gun in her hands and was pointing it at the man.

“This man killed Jessica!” Madam Bortacelli yelled as she waved the gun at the man.

“She’s lying!” The man yelled back. “She killed Jessica! She’s always hated her!”

“That’s enough!” Lisbon yelled, effectively grabbing everyone’s attention. “Madam Bortacelli, please put the gun down.”

“Never; not until I‘ve avenged my friend.” Madam Bortacelli replied angrily.

“Oh please,” The maintenance guy said. “You’ve always been jealous of Jessica! She was never your friend!”

“Liar!” Madam Bortacelli yelled as the gun went off.

Madam Bortacelli screamed as she dropped the gun, and Jane and Lisbon both crouched down as low as they could get.

Lisbon stood and opened her eyes. She was both amazed and relieved to see that the bullet had missed its intended target and imbedded itself in a nearby painting.

“You’re under arrest for attempted murder.” Lisbon said as she stood and cuffed Madam Bortacelli. “You’re coming with us for questioning.” Lisbon added as she pointed to the maintenance worker.

“You guys go ahead,” Jane began as Lisbon started walking Madam Bortacelli towards the door. “I’ll catch up.”

**xxxxx**

Jane and Lisbon had made it back to CBI in one piece after their little ordeal with a tantrum throwing, crazy art teacher.

The maintenance worker, Bill, and Madam Bortacelli had been put into separate interrogation rooms and were waiting for the questions to start rolling in.

Rigsby was going to be interrogating Bill and Cho would take Madam Bortacelli. Lisbon listened in on the interrogations as usual, but Jane opted to rather lie on his couch.

After Jane had collapsed on the worn leather of his beloved couch, his phone started to buzz in his pocket, indicating that he had a new text message.

_**How are your ears? ;)** _

Jane was puzzled at first, but smiled as he realized who it could be.

_**They are fine thank you… a little gun powder is good for the pores.** _

There was a pause as Jane waited for Mia’s answer.

_**Great health tip ;)** _

Jane smiled to himself as he let his phone rest on his chest with a sigh.

After about five minutes, Jane was about to fall asleep when the phone on his chest buzzed again.

_**Seriously though… Are you OK? <3** _

Jane couldn’t help the wide grin that spread across his face. These are the things he loved about Mia. She was always there and would always worry about him… even if he didn’t want her to.

_**Don’t worry about me beautiful… I‘m fine** _

Jane waited in anticipation for the little symbol that indicated a new message.

_**Good, otherwise I’ll have to come and kick your ass for you… ;))** _

Jane chuckled silently to himself as he thought of Mia driving all the way to CBI just kick his butt for him. 

As Jane put his phone in his pocket, he saw Lisbon walking towards the bullpen and she wasn’t in a good mood, at all.

“Well, we got nothing.” Lisbon said in exasperation as she threw the file she holding onto the metal table in front of her. “Neither of them will talk.”

“Hmm,” Jane replied as he sat up. “Maybe I can crack them.”

“You’re welcome to try.” Lisbon replied with a sigh as she massaged her temples.

“I just need to bring in my secret weapon.” Jane replied as he grabbed his phone and started walking towards the elevator.

**xxxxx**

Half an hour later Jane walked into Madam Bortacelli’s interrogation room with his secret weapon in tow.

“I’m sure you remember Mia Black?” Jane asked as he and Mia sat down at the metal table.

“Yes,” Madam Bortacelli replied. “You two interviewed me this morning. I swear, I didn’t kill Jessica.”

Jane and Mia shared a glance as they heard the all too familiar lie.

“Are you sure?” Mia asked. “You might’ve done it by mistake.”

“I couldn’t have,” Madam Bortacelli protested. “I was busy this morning.”

“I thought you said Jessica came to pick up some art supplies this morning?” Mia said suspiciously.

“Well, she did,” Madam Bortaccelli stuttered. “But I was also very busy after she left.”

“Uh huh,” Jane replied.

Jane turned on his seat and motioned for Mia to do the same. They turned towards the two-way glass, but didn’t acknowledge that anyone was on the other side.

“I say we let Bortaccelli and Bill go and keep an eye on them,” Jane whispered to Mia. “We’ll see which one cracks first.”

“I know Daniel and Lisbon aren’t going to like that idea,” Mia replied. “But I think it’ll work.”

Jane reached over and gave Mia’s hand a little squeeze before turning back to Bortaccelli.

“We’re going to let you go,” Jane replied. “But we might bring you in again later on for more questioning.”

Jane and Mia stood from the table and exited the interrogation room.

“Now to deal with some angry agents.” Jane murmured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

 

“Let me get this straight,” Daniel said as he paced up and down Lisbon’s office. “You want us to let Bortaccelli and Bill go and keep them under surveillance until one of them cracks? What if they escape?”

“We won’t let that happen.” Mia replied angrily as she walked to stand in front of Daniel.

“Oh yeah,” Daniel began sarcastically. “Just like 2009.”

This seemed to throw Mia a little, but it didn’t stop her words from containing a little bit of venom.

“No, not like 2009.” Mia fumed. “I promised that would never happen again.”

Daniel and Mia locked eyes as they started an epic staring match, but were interrupted by Jane.

“Sorry to interrupt, but what is ‘2009’ exactly?” Jane asked with confusion as he sat on Lisbon’s couch.

“Nothing,” Mia replied. “Just a stupid mistake.”

“That cost people their lives.” Daniel interrupted as he raised his voice a little.

“But it won’t happen again!” Mia yelled. “Just trust me for once in your life. I’m not some stupid little girl!”

Mia stormed out of Lisbon’s office with a few silver tears rolling down her cheeks. Jane immediately shot out of the door after her and Lisbon and Daniel were left in the tense silence.

“That didn’t go well,” Daniel said mildly as he rubbed a hand over his face.

“Ya think?” Lisbon asked sarcastically. “That was actually a pretty good plan though.”

With that Lisbon left Daniel to ponder over what had just happened.

**xxxxx**

 Jane found Mia sitting on a bench at a nearby park. The peaceful sanctuary had a few children running around chasing some birds and a few dogs with their owners enjoying some good exercise.

Jane walked as silently as he could until he was standing almost directly behind the bench.

“I can hear you Patrick,” Mia said, her voice thick with tears. “I don’t feel like talking.”

“Then we won’t talk,” Jane said as he sat down next to Mia. “We can just people watch if you want.”

They sat in silence for awhile until Mia started to let her silent tears fall freely. Jane tugged on Mia’s arm until she fell with her head against his chest and he engulfed her in his arms.

Jane ran his hand through Mia’s curly hair while he whispered sweet nothings in her ears.

Eventually her tears stopped and she pulled away to look into Jane’s sympathetic blue-green eyes.

“I’m sorry,” Mia whispered softly.

“Don’t be,” Jane replied as he ran his hand down Mia’s cheek.

“I’m just sorry that I can’t tell you yet,” Mia said. “I’m just not ready.”

“Hey,” Jane began. “Take your time, just like I took mine”

Jane lifted Mia’s left hand and showed her the golden band that was still perched there. Mia gave a small smile as she remembered how Jane had told her all about his past.

She just wasn’t sure if she was ready to do the same.  

"I just feel bad that you put all of your trust in me and laid your past down, and I can't return the favor." Mia said sadly a she twirled Jane's golden band round on her finger.

"Hey," Jane said as he tilted Mia's head upwards tp face him. "I kept my past to myself for years. You're the only living person that knows the full story."

Mia seemed shocked at this revelation.

"Surely you must've told _**someone**_ else?" Mia asked  with confusion.

"Well yes," Jane began timidly. "But unfortunately she isn't around anymore."

After what seemed like a split second of confusion, Mia knew exactly who Jane was referring to.

"I'm sorry," Mia said softly.

"That's alright," Jane replied with a small smile. "I've made my peace."

They sat in a comfortable silence as they watched two children playing.

Jane chanced a glance in Mia's direction as he heard the little kids laughing.

"How's your biological clock ticking?" Jane asked teasingly as he gave Mia's hand a squeeze.

"It's ticking just fine thank you," Mia replied with a cheeky grin. “Besides, I don’t think I would make a good mother.”

“Why not?” Jane asked with confusion. “You would make an amazing mother.”

“Even if I did,” Mia began dejectedly. “I’m not ready.”  
They sat in silence once again as a cool breeze started to blow around them. The clouds in the sky started to darken as the wind grew stronger.

“I think we should get going.” Jane said. “I think it’s gonna rain.”

“Yep, I can already feel some little drops on my arm,” Mia replied as she stood from her seat on the bench.

“Are you sure you’re OK?” Jane asked as he took Mia’s hand in his and started leading her towards his car.

“I’m going to be fine,” Mia replied reassuringly. “Just as long as Daniel keeps his mouth shut, I’ll be fine.”

Jane stopped and turned to face Mia. He took her face in his hands and leant forward to meet her lips with his own. 

He kissed her sweetly, but didn’t have time to deepen the kiss as the heavens opened and the rain started pouring.

“Let’s go!” Jane yelled over the rain as they stood getting soaked.

“You’ll have to catch me first!” Mia yelled playfully as she started running back towards Jane’s car.

**xxxxx**

Jane and Mia arrived back at CBI after heading to Mia’s apartment or some dry clothes.

Oddly, it took them an hour to get dressed… But they arrived at CBI nevertheless.

Everyone was in the bullpen getting ready to put Jane and Mia’s plan into action.

“I thought you said this was a bad idea?” Mia asked incredulously as she walked into the buzzing bullpen.

“Well, you were right,” Daniel began as he walked over to Mia. “I should trust you more. Plus this was majority vote.”  
Mia had a huge smile on her face that wouldn’t disappear.

“Alright,” Lisbon began. “Our team is going to watch Bortaccelli and your team will watch Bill.”

“Sounds good,” Daniel replied simply.

“We should probably organize shifts,” Lisbon began. “Who knows how long this will take.”

“Right,” Daniel replied. “We can organize that on the way. Let’s start rolling.”

Daniel started walking towards the elevator when he quickly turned to ask, “Who are you going with Mia?”

“Um, I think I’ll go with Jane,” Mia replied with a small smile.

“OK,” Daniel replied. “Let us know if you find anything.”  
“Will do,” Mia said after his retreating figure.

“Alright,” Lisbon said. “Who’s gonna take first watch?”

“I’m sure Mia and I can take it.” Jane replied confidently.

“Jane,” Lisbon began with some suspicion. “I’d rather have someone with a gun watching the house.”

“Lisbon,” Jane replied with a cheeky smile. “I highly doubt that Bortaccelli will make a move just yet.”

“Fine,” Lisbon replied with a sigh. “But I want you to call if _**anything**_ happens _**at all**_ , understood?”

“Yes mother,” Jane replied as he and Mia started walking towards the exit.

**xxxxx**

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Mia said with a sigh of frustration. "We've been sitting here for two hours."

"Patience my dear," Jane mumbled as he put his hand on Mia's leg.

"Yes, well patience is a virtue I have yet to add to my arsenal." Mia said somewhat angrily.

Jane leaned over and gave Mia a small kiss on the cheek to try and distract her a little.

Mia hummed happily as his lips touched her chilled skin.

It had grown dark and the earlier rain had caused the air to become chilly.

Jane ran his hand up and down Mia's leg a few times as he tried to warm her up a little.

"Do you want my jacket?" Jane asked as he saw Mia close her eyes and lean her head against the window.

"No thanks," Mia replied with a smile. "What I want is for Bortacelli to make a stinking move."

"She will," Jane replied soothingly. "Maybe sooner than you think."

Jane pointed towards Bortaccelli's house where Mia could see a small light going from room to room.

"Do you think someone else is in there?" Mia asked somewhat nervously.

"I can't quite tell," Jane said as he struggled to look out the window.

"Maybe we should call Daniel or Lisbon." Mia said as she reached for her cell phone.

"Meh," Jane said as he stopped Mia from pulling her cell phone out of her jeans. "Rigsby and Van Pelt will be here in about fifteen minutes. If anything happens, they'll be able to help."

"Are you sure?" Mia asked with concern evident in her features.

"Trust me," Jane replied simply as he planted a quick kiss on Mia's cheek before climbing out of the car.

Mia followed behind Jane as he walked quietly to Bortaccelli's front door.

Jane pulled out his trusty lock picking tool and used it to open the door while Mia looked around to see if anyone was watching.

Jane opened the door slowly a his eyes adjusted to the dark room.

Mia grabbed his hand nervously as she felt a small creature of deja vu gnaw at her flipping stomach.

Jane walked into the dark room with Mia fairly close behind.

Jane looked around as he tried to see the source of the light they had seen from the car.

Jane was too focused to realise that Mia had let go of his hand and stopped in the hallway.

Mia thought she heard something behind her, but wasn't quick enough as someone grabbed her from behind and put a sharp glinting blade to her throat.

The lights suddenly came on as Jane spun to see Mia with a knife to her throat.

Jane gasped as he realised who the knife wielder was.

It was none other than Madam Bortaccelli of course, but he was surprised to see Bill standing next to the light switch.

Weren't Daniel and his team supposed to be making sure this guy didn't go anywhere?

But surely if Bill was here, Daniel wasn't far behind.

"This is going to mess up all of our plans." Bortaccelli complained as she looked to her companion.

"Don't worry," Bill replied. "We'll figure something out."

Bill pulled a gun out from behind his back and pointed it at Jane.

"Let's start with Goldilocks." Bill said with an evil grin as he cocked the gun.

"Hold on now," Jane began hastily. "You don't need to do this."

"Oh but I do," Bill replied.

Jane could see that this probably wasn't going to end the way either he or Mia wanted it to.

"OK, how about we make a deal," Jane said as he raised his hands above his head. "You let her go and you can do whatever you want with me."

"Patrick don't!" Mia yelled as she struggled against Bortaccelli's surprisingly strong grip.

"Shut up!" Bortaccelli said as she tightened her grip on Mia and the knife.

"Please," Jane pleaded.

Bill seemed to consider this proposal.

"I don't think so." Bill said evily as he pulled the trigger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 

A loud bang resonated through the house and Mia screamed as she felt Bortaccelli's grip loosen.

"No!" Mia screamed as she looked around.

But something wasn't right...

"Patrick?" Mia said with confusion as she looked to see Jane still standing in front of her.

Jane opened his eyes as he realised that he wasn't in any pain, but Bill probably wasn't going to be a threat anymore.

"Mia," Jane began as he walked over to her. "Are you alright?"

"Me?!" Mia asked incredulously. "What about you?! You just got shot at!"

Suddenly Daniel burst into the room with David in tow. They both had kevlar vests and their guns in their hands.

"Is everyone OK?" Daniel asked a little breathlessly.

"Sort of," Jane replied as he looked down at Bill who was lying in a puddle of blood. "I think Bill has had better days."

"Well, you can thank David for that one." Daniel said as he patted David on the shoulder. "He took the shot."

"Thank you very much," Jane said as he shakily nodded towards David.

"You're welcome," David replied as he holstered his weapon.

"Where did Bortaccelli go?" Daniel asked as he realised that the woman had indeed disappeared.

"I don't know," Mia replied. "She was here a second ago."

"Let's go check the perimeter." Daniel said quickly as he and David ran from the room.

Mia and Jane were left in an oddly tense silence.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Jane asked as he took one of Mia's trembling hands in his.

"I'm fine," Mia whispered as her teary eyes met Jane's worried ones.

Jane pulled Mia into a tight hug as she started to cry.

"I was s-so worried," Mia sobbed into Jane's shoulder. "I thought I'd l-lost you P-Patrick."

"Shh," Jane soothed as he ran his fingers through her reddish-brown curls. "I'm right here beautiful. I'm not going anywhere."

"You better not," Mia said with a playful giggle as her tears started to subside.

Mia pulled away as she put her hands on either side of Jane's face and he placed his hands on her hips.

"Seriously though," Mia said as she rubbed her thumb up and down on Jane's cheek. "As soon as I heard the gun I thought..."

"Shh," Jane replied as he rested his forehead against Mia's. "I'm here now. We're both fine."

Jane lowered his head a little as he captured Mia's trembling lips with his own.

The kiss was slow and full of passion as they let all of their emotions shine through.

Finally they pulled away and Jane ran his hand down Mia's cheek one last time as they heard foot steps coming towards them.

"Are you guys OK?" Lisbon asked as she came over to the two.

"Yes Lisbon," Jane replied reassuringly. "We're both fine."

"Good," Lisbon had a small smile as she heard this. "I thought I told you to call if _**anything**_ happened."

"Yes, well, we were kind of busy," Jane replied. "You know, being held hostage and all."

"Whatever," Lisbon replied with mock anger. "I want _**both**_ of you to get checked over by the paramedics."

"But..." Jane began, but Mia interrupted him.

"Of course we will Teresa." Mia gave Jane a look. "We appreciate your concern."

Lisbon was a little suspicious about what was going on between Jane and Mia, but only replied by saying, "I'll go and see if they found Bortaccelli."

Lisbon left the room and Mia turned and hit jane in the arm.

"Ow!" Jane complained as he rubbed his arm. "What was that for?"

"We almost got caught dork," Mia replied, but her playful grin dulled the anger in her words.

"Well it's a good thing we didn't then." Jane said with his signature smile. But his smile started to fade as he noticed a faint red line on Mia's neck where Bortaccelli had held the knife.

"What's wrong?" Mia asked with concern as she saw Jane's face drop.

Jane lifted his right hand and with a feather light touch, he ran his index finger along the red line from beginning to end.

"I'm sorry," Jane said softly. "I'm so sorry that she came so close to killing you."

"Hey, look at me," Mia said with a small smile. "We're both alive and going to see the paramedics. Come on."

Mia took Jane's hand as she started pulling him towards the door and outside to where the ambulance was parked.

**xxxxx**

Daniel and his team had found Bortaccelli half way down the road trying to make a clean get away.

Needless to say she didn't succeed in escaping.

Jane and Mia had both been given the all clear by the paramedics and both teams had agreed to meet back at CBI for a debrief.

Jane and Mia were sitting on the worn leather couch in the corner, Daniel and Lisbon were having their own conversation, and the team members had all started conversations amongst themselves with their similar counterparts.

"Good work today guys," Daniel suddenly said loudly. "We had a few close calls, but we solved it in the end."

"Who would've thought Bill and Bortacclli had done it together?" Lisa said from her seat next to Rigsby.

"Yeah, and over something as simple as dumping paint into a stream." Alistair McFarley added as he stood next to Grace.

"At least we solved the case." David chimed in with a large grin. "Who's up for closed case pizza?"

There was a chorus of agreement from everyone. Well, everyone apart from the two consultants.

"No thanks," Jane said simply. "I'm still a little shaky."

Everyone turned to Mia as she added, "I have plans."

"Alright," Daniel replied. "I guess the rest of us will have to eat a pizza for both of you."

The two teams all started leaving, all but Lisbon.

"Are you guys sure you don't wanna join us?" Lisbon asked one last time.

"One hundred percent Lisbon." Jane replied with his megawatt smile.

Lisbon seemed as if she wanted to protest, but decided against it as she instead resorted to replying, "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good evening you two."

The bull pen was once again lonely as the two consultants remained on the couch.

"What plans did you have?" Jane asked as he turned to Mia.

"I was hoping I could have a peaceful evening with a certain blonde." Mia replied with a small smile. "That's if he'll accept my company of course."

"Why wouldn't he?" Jane asked playfully as he leaned over and pecked Mia lightly. "Let's go my love."

Jane and Mia left the bull pen hand in hand and drove to Mia's apartment after picking up some Chinese takeout.

After all the food had been eaten, an old movie had been watched, and a warm bath had been shared, Jane and Mia lay in bed, both seemingly asleep.

At least Mia was asleep, but Jane still lay wide awake, running the events of the evening and the whole day in general through his mind.

Jane's body was tired after the events of the day and making love to Mia, but he still couldn't fall asleep.

He kept thinking about the emotions that had been coursing through him as he had seen Mia with a knife to her throat a few hours earlier. He kept thinking about what he might've done if Mia had been seriously hurt... Or worse. He probably wouldn't have forgiven himself.

Mia stirred in her sleep next to him as she adjusted the sheets on her naked form.

Jane gave a small smile as he realised that he probably wouldn't live if Mia was taken away from him. He would just give up and get rid of himself.

He wasn't sure if he loved her, but he knew that he had some feelings for her. Maybe he didn't love her like Angela, but he still wanted to protect her and say that she was his.

Jane reached over and tucked a piece of hair behind Mia's ear. He leaned over and kissed her neck slowly. Mia hummed in her sleep at the touch of his lips, but she didn't wake up.

Jane stared in awe as he thought about how this angel lying next to him had changed his life in the short period of two months.

He had once sworn that he wouldn't fall in love again and that he wouldn't stop in his quest for Red John. But now, as he looked at his golden band on Mia's finger, he realised that maybe Red John wasn't everything.

He would still fight to find Red John, but maybe he wouldn't kill him.

Maybe he would just let him rot in a cell in prison.

Mia turned and threw her arm over his warm chest as she automatically tangled her legs with his.

Jane wrapped his arms around his precious guardian angel as he breathed in the smell of her shampoo, sweat, and something that was uniquely Mia.

Maybe forgetting about Red John for awhile is just what he needs. He still has a life to live anyway.

For now he's happy to live it with Mia for as long as she wants to keep him around.

**xxxxx**

Jane was startled from his happy slumber as he heard his cell phone ringing on the table next to him.

Mia groaned as she too was awoken by the shrill ringing of the annoying phone.

"Sh, it's mine," Jane mumbled sleepily. "Go back to sleep."

"Huh, yeah," Mia replied somewhat grumpily. "Tell an insomniac to go back to sleep."

Jane reached over and lifted his cell phone off of the small table and flipped it open.

"Patrick Jane," Jane answered the phone sleepily as he tried to wake himself up.

_**"** **Sorry to wake you Jane,** **"**_ Lisbon's familiar voice came over the phone.

"Of course you didn't wake me Lisbon," Jane replied as he pulled Mia's head onto his chest once again. "I was wide awake."

_**"Whatever,"**_ Lisbon said with some amusement in her voice. _**"We have another case."**_

"Can't you guys just wait until I get to the office?" Jane asked with a groan as Mia kissed his neck softly.

_**"I'm afraid not,"**_ Lisbon replied and Jane could tell that the mood had changed.

"Why not?" Jane asked, but Lisbon's reply caused his body to stiffen.

Mia realized that something had changed, but waited until Jane had hung up the phone to ask.

"What's wrong?" Mia asked with concern as she sat up in front of Jane.

"The case." Jane mumbled as he too sat up.

"What about it?" Mia asked, worry now evident in her features.

"It's...it's," Jane stuttered.

"It's what?" Mia asked as she put her hand on Jane's cheek.

"It's Red John." Jane replied sadly. "He's struck again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	15. Chapter 15

** Chapter 15 **

 

Jane pulled his eggshell-blue Citroen into the parking lot of the farely large appartment block.

He stepped out of the car and walked to the room that was crawling with police officers and crime scene personnell.

Lisbon was talking to Cho when Jane walked in and the first thing he saw was the taunting, red smiley face.

"The body is in the master bedroom." Lisbon murmered as she saw the look on Jane's face.

"Thank you," Jane replied faintly as he started walking towards the bedroom.

Jane entered the dim room that smelt of stale blood. A wave of sadness and rememberance washed over him as he remembered coming home to the bodies of his mutilated wife and child.

Jane cautiously walked over to the bed and expected the typical slashings of Red John's handiwork.

He was expecting the victim to be a young blonde woman, but was surprised when he saw curly reddish-brown hair similar to that of a certain someone.

Jane was somewhat puzzled, yet worried as he saw the blank hazel eyes of the victim.

Another odd similarity.

Jane noticed that the victim was holding something in her right hand.

Jane carefully opened her cold fingers and saw a bloodied piece of paper.

He carefully took it out of the woman's hand and unfolded it.

He nearly dropped the note in shock of what he saw typed on it.

 

_**You seem to forget Patrick,** _

_**I make the rules and control the future.** _

_**I decide when and how you move on.** _

_**You are simply my puppet in this game.** _

_**Take this as a warning of things to come if you don't watch youreself.** _

_**RJ** _

 

No... This could not be happening. He would not let Red John take another person away from him.

Jane hurriedly stuffed the note in his suit pocket and pulled his cell phone out and flipped it open.

He hurriedly dialed the all too familiar number and impatiently put the phone to his ear.

"Come on Mia," Jane said impatiently. "Pick up."

After the third ring the phone was answered by Mia, who sounded somewhat breathless.

"Mia Black," Mia answered.

"Mia, are you alright?" Jane asked with concern.

"Patrick?" Mia said as she realized who had called her. "Yeah, I'm fine. I jut ran to get the phone, that's all."

"Good," Jane replied as he took a deep breath to calm himself. "Where are you?"

"Um, I'm still at home," Mia replied with confusion. "I was just about to grab a bite and head over Sac PD."

"Listen to me Mia," Jane began as he started organize things in his mind. "You need to skip breakfast and come to CBI right now, OK? Don't stop anywhere, just come straight here."

"Why?" Mia asked. "What's wrong?"

"I'll explain when you get here," Jane said as he started leaving the master bedroom. "Just come to CBI as fast as you can."

Jane heard shuffling on the other side of the phone and he guessed that Mia was grabbing her keys and locking up.

"OK, I'll be right there." Mia replied and ended the call.

Jane hurriedly made his way past all of the people who were doing their jobs right where he needed to walk.

Jane burst out of the door and bee-lined straight for his car.

Lisbon had been standing on the front lawn talking to one of the of the forensic guys when Jane had sped past her.

"Woah, Jane, is everything OK?" Lisbon asked worriedly as she saw Jane get into his car.

"I'm perfectly fine Lisbon," Jane replied hurriedly. "I'll see you back at CBI."

Jane sped off at a speed that would surely earn him a parking ticket and Lisbon just stood by and watched.

She knew something was wrong with Jane... She just didn't know what.

**xxxxx**

Jane arrived at CBI before Mia, because he was closer. He was standing in front of the elevator pacing up and down. He jumped every time the elevator dinged.

Sadly Mia wasn't among the agents that bustled out of it.

Eventually Jane was desperately impatient and was about to dial Mia's number when the elevator dinged and a familiar head of curls appeared.

Before Mia could even exit the elevator Jane had engulfed her in a tight hug.

When Jane pulled away he asked, "Mia, are you alright?" as he put his hands on her cheeks.

"I'm fine," Mia replied with a small smile. "Now what's gotten all hyper?"

"I'll tell you upstairs," Jane replied as he started pulling up the stairs towards his attic. "This is private."

Jane pulled Mia hurriedly up the stairs with him until he made it to the large door.

Once he and were Mia safely inside of the attic Jane shut and locked the door.

"What's going on Patrick?" Mia asked with confusion.

"Here's the thing," Jane began a he turned to Mia.

**xxxxx**

"Wait, so your telling me that Red John is hunting me?!" Mia asked angrily, yet worriedly.

"Well, no," Jane replied as he sat across from Mia on an old, wooden chair. "Not exactly. I only received this note so far."

"But you said the victim looked just like me." Mia retorted.

"Not one hundred percent," Jane reassured Mia. "But there were similarites."

"Great," Mia huffed as she stood and started pacing. "Your serial killer has now become my serial killer."

Jane walked over to Mia and stopped her mid-pace. He looked into her eyes and gave a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry," Jane murmered as he ran a hand down her cheek. "I'll protect you."

"How Patrick?" Mia asked with a trembling tone. "You couldn't protect Angela and Charlotte, or Kristina Frye. What makes you think this time will be different?"

Jane gave a sigh as he saw the truth in Mia's words. He hadn't been able to protect his family from the monster, so how would he protect Mia?

Then a light bulb went on in Jane's mind.

Jane walked hurriedly over to the desk that sat in front of the old, misty windows.

He yanked the first drawer open and pulled out a wooden box that he had received as a gift not too long ago.

Mia walked over to Jane with curiosity as he started opening the medium sized box.

The object insided glinted in the faint sunlight and Mia gasped as she realized what was in the box.

Jane lifted the gun slowly and held it in both of his hands as he admired the weapon.

"Patrick," Mia said in awe. "Where the hell did you get that thing?"

"A suspect on one of the cases we did a while back gave it to me." Jane replied. "I never though I'd use it, but now..."

"No," Mia replied stiffly. "You are not going to become a murder."

"This is the only way I can keep you safe." Jane replied as he put the gun away and turned to Mia.

"Well, if that's what you feel, then I'm sorry but I can't do this anymore."

Mia turned to leave, but Jane grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Please Mia," Jane said desperately. "Don't go."

Tears started falling from Mia's eyes at Jane's words.

"I'm sorry Patrick," Mia sobbed. "This is just too much."

Mia started walking down the stairs and Jane stood frozen as he struggled to swallow the fact that Mia was leaving.

No... He wasn't going to let her go.

Jane ran down the stairs as fast as he could. Luckily the old elevator was running slow, so Mia was still standing at the bottom of the staircase.

"Mia, please wait," Jane began as he walked over to Mia.

"I'm sorry Patrick," Mia said as she wiped some tears from her eyes. "I just don't wanna take that risk."

The elevator doors whooshed open and Mia was about to step inside when Jane grabbed her and spun her so fast that she landed against his chest with a thud.

"I promise I'll protect you no matter what." Jane said as he put his hands on Mia's cheeks and wiped away her tears.

"I'm sorry Patrick," Mia said with defeat as she pulled away from Jane. "I'll see you around."

Mia got into the old elevator and the doors closed in Jane's face.

His heart had been broken... again.

But this time, not by the hands of a serial killer, but by the hands of an angel.

Jane moaped into the bull pen and headed towards his couch.

Grace was still sitting at her desk as she hadn't accompanied the others to the crime scene.

"Hey Jane," Grace began cheerily, but at seeing Jane's look of defeat her tone changed. "Is everything OK?"

"Yes, thank you Grace," Jane replied simply as he collapsed on his couch with his face hidden in the warn leather of the backrest.

At first Van Pelt thought that he was upset because of the new victim of Red John, but deep down she knew it was something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 

Lisbon was sitting in her office typing on her computer. She, Rigsby, and Cho had come back from the crime scene with no news... As usual.

What did she expect, it was Red John. Obviously there wasn't going to be any evidence.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon and it was pouring with rain.

Lisbon raised her arms above her head to stretch out the stiffness when she noticed a familiar head of blonde curls walking past her office door.

Lisbon stood from her desk with a look of confusion as she saw Jane walking towards the elevator.

"Jane?" Lisbon said as she walked out of her office. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, I just thought that I would take the rest of the day off." Jane said simply as he turned towards Lisbon.

"Really?" Lisbon asked with surprise. Jane never, ever took the day off.

"Why not?" Jane said. "It's a Red John case, so we aren't really gonna go anywhere with it anyway."

Lisboon looked at Jane with a look of concern, but some understanding was mixed in too.

"OK," Lisbon replied softly. "I guess I'll see you on Monday."

"See you Monday, Lisbon." Jane said with a small smile as he walked to the elevator and got inside.

Lisbon decided that she would let him go for now but she would keep an eye on him.

**xxxxx**

Meanwhile, Mia was at Sac PD walking to Daniel's office.

She knocked politely on the wooden door and Daniel called her in.

"Oh, Mia," Daniel said with a small smile as he realized who it was. "Is everything OK?"

"Yeah, everything is fine," Mia replied with a semi reassuring smile. "I just wanted to know if I could take the rest of the afternoon off?"

Daniel was a little surprised at this request, but he could tell deep down that Mia really needed a break.

"Sure," Daniel replied as he walked around his desk to stand in front of Mia. "We don't have any active cases, so I'm sure you could take a day."

"Thanks Daniel." Mia said as she turned to leave.

"Mia, wait," Daniel said a he put a hand on her arm. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah," Mia replied. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

"OK," Daniel said as he took his hand off of Mia's arm. "I'll see you on Monday."

Mia started walking out of Daniel's office and had just made it to the door when Daniel called out, "Get some rest."

"Thanks," Mia replied as she walked out of the door. "I will."

**xxxxx**

Jane was sitting in his car, driving around in circles.

He had nothing to do now that Mia was gone. Besides, it was Friday, so there was no real excitement.

Jane pulled his car into the parking lot and sat in front of the florist, thinking as he looked at all the roses in the window.

Then an idea came to mind.

He was Patrick Jane... He didn't give up so easily.

A grin spread across Jane's face as he started to formulate a plan.

Mia's favorite flowers were roses... Right?

This was gonna be a perfect plan.

**xxxxx**

Mia had pulled into her parking space at her apartment block.

It was still pouring with rain and Mia realized that she would have to run through the rain, because she didn't have an umbrella.

At least she wasn't wearing one of her more expensive three piece suits.

Mia made a quick run for it as she headed straight for her apartment door.

As soon as she was on the front step, she felt the chill of the air mixed with her damp clothes.

Only then did Mia notice that Jane was sitting on her doorstep with a small smile.

"Patrick?!" Mia asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

Jane stood from his seat and Mia noticed that his clothes were also quite wet.

"I came here to get you back." Jane said plainly as he took Mia's cold hands into his warm ones.

"Patrick..." Mia began with a sigh, but Jane cut her off.

"No, Mia, please," Jane said desperately. "Look, I was stupid earlier. I can't go a single day without you. Not even a couple of hours. I need you and I want you. I'll even give up this chase for Red John and I'll give the gun to Lisbon. Please Mia, I'll do anything for you."

Mia stood frozen as the impact of Jane's words sunk in. All of his promises warmed her heart and she couldn't help but smile.

"Mia?" Jane asked as Mia still didn't say anything. "Am I forgiven?"

"What do you think dork?" Mia asked with a wide smile.

"Well, judging by your smile," Jane began. "I'd say yes?"

"Of course," Mia said with a giggle as she threw her arms around Jane's neck. "You are forgiven."

Jane hugged Mia tightly as he cherised the warmth that radiated from her body.

"Good," Jane said as he pulled away. "Because I have something else for you."

Jane bent down and lifted something off of Mia's doorstep.

Mia's eyes sparkled as she looked upon the bouquet of roses.

"Patrick," Mia said with a wide smile. "They're absultely beautiful. Look at all of the different colors."

"Every single one of them has a meaning." Jane said as he placed the flowers into Mia's hands. "But I think we should go inside before I tell you. I don't think I'm the only one who's freezing."

"Of course," Mia said as she pulled her keys out of her pocket and opened the door for the two of them.

They walked into the warm house and Jane pulled off his suit jacket and waistcoat. Mia put the flowers in Jane's waiting hands as she too removed her wet suit jacket and waistcoat.

They went over to the couch and Jane sat as close as he could to Mia.

"So," Mia asked as Jane laid the flowers down in his lap. "What do all of those beautiful roses mean?"

"Well," Jane began with his heart-melting smile. "The first one is the yellow one, which means 'Friendship'."

Jane pulled the yellow rose out of the bouqet and handed it to Mia.

"This is the first, because we started out as friends." Jane said as he watched Mia smell the rose and set it down on the table.

"The second one is deep pink and means 'Thank You', because I want to thank you for accepting my past." Jane handed the rose to Mia with a small smile.

"Third is the white one," Jane said as he held the white rose out to Mia. "In our case it means 'Secrecy', because we both still have secrets and because our relationship is secret."

Mia gave a cheeky grin as she accepted the rose and laid it down with the others.

"Next comes the orange rose," Jane swallowed slighty as he handed Mia the rose. "It means 'Desire', because I desire you."

Mia gave a small smile as she leaned in and pecked Jane lightly on the cheek.

Jane cleared his throat and continued, "The lavender rose is next. This one means 'Enchantment', because from the moment I met you I was enchanted by you."

Mia blushed slightly at this revaltion and held the rose close to her heart.

"The next two are very important." Jane said as he pulled out two roses that were attached with a white ribbon. "The two red roses together mean 'Love' and 'Passion', because out relationship is filled with both."

Mia gave a smile and took Jane's hand in hers.

"And last, but ceryainly not least," Jane said with a smile. "These two roses are a definite package deal, kinda like us."

Jane lifted the two roses out of the paper that they had been wrapped in. The red and white flowers had been delicately wrapped in a silken, red ribbon. "Together they mean 'Unity'."

Mia took the last two roses and put them on the table. She put her hand on Jane's cheek and leant in for a passionate kiss that conveyed all of her emotions.

"Thank you so much Patrick." Mia said softly as she kissed him again.

Jane place his hand on Mia's hip and tried to deepen the kiss, but she pulled away.

"Look," Mia began with a sigh. "You don't have to give up your quest for Red John. Just promise me... that when the time comes... you'll let him get arrested and you won't kill him."

"I promise," Jane said sincerely as he lifted Mia's hands and kissed them.

"And I guess you can keep the gun..." Mia sais somewhat reluctantly. "As long as it's for self-defence only."

"Yes, I promise," Jane replied. "Self-defense only."

“Good,” Mia said with a smile as she pecked Jane on the cheek.

They sat for a while, listening to the rain and looking into each other’s eyes.

Eventually Jane kissed Mia and picked up the mood with his hand under her shirt.

“Let’s go,” Jane mumbled against Mia’s lips.

“Yep,” Mia complied as she stood and they started making their way towards the bedroom.

**xxxxx**

They lay in a tangle of sheets and limbs as the rain pattered on the roof.

Surprisingly it was already ten o’clock at night.

Mia lay with her head on Jane’s chest and her arm draped over his middle.

Jane leaned down and placed a kiss on her curly head as he ran his fingers up and down her arm.

“You awake beautiful?” Jane asked.

“Yep,” Mia replied with a smile. “I’m an insomniac too, remember?”

“Right,” Jane said with a little chuckle.

The silence settled in once again as they just cherished the time they had with each other.

“I’ve got an idea,” Jane said. “Why don’t we go away tomorrow? Just you and me?”

“Where would we go?” Mia asked with confusion as she lifted herself on her elbow.

“How about Malibu?” Jane asked with a little bit of uncertainty.

“Why Malibu?” Mia said as she moved a stray curl out of Jane’s face.

“I have something I wanna show you.” Jane said simply as he took Mia’s hand in his own. “But we’ll have to stop by the hardware store before we leave.”

“OK,” Mia replied. “I guess a day at the beach could be fun.”

“Good,” Jane said as he kissed Mia sweetly. “But we better get some sleep, because it’s a long drive.”

Jane pulled Mia on top of his chest and closed his eyes, readying himself for sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *NOTICE: For this fic, I really want to leave out all of the drama of seasons 4&5\. But after seeing little Benjamin, I have absolutely fallen in love with him and have decided to put him in this fic... even though it's brief, I still love him :)

**Chapter 17**

Mia sighed as she stretched out her hand and searched for her bed mate. But when Mia opened her eyes with a look of confusion, she saw that her curly haired casanova was nowhere to be seen.

Mia stood up and pulled the sheet  around her as she searched for something to wear.

She put on her underwear and pulled Jane's dress shirt tightly around her body.

She took a deep breath and heaved a content sigh as she smelt Jane's familiar cologne.

Mia slowly made her way downstairs after quickly running a brush through her hair.

As Mia made her way to the kitchen, she smelt the familiar aroma of bacon and eggs.

Jane stood in front of the stove, busy crisping some bacon.

"Good morning," Mia said cheerfully as she came up behind Jane and wrapped her arms around his bare chest. "I see breakfast is almost ready."

"Yep," Jane replied with a smile. "Crispy bacon and delicious eggs."

"Yum," Mia said with a smile as she leaned her head on Jane's shoulder.

"You OK?" Jane asked with some concern.

"Yeah," Mia replied. "Oh, where are my roses?"

"I put them in a vase that is standing on the dining room table." Jane replied simply as he turned and hugged Mia close to his chest.

"Thank you," Mia said as she reached up a placed a soft kiss on Jane's lips.

"Shall we eat?" Jane asked as he framed Mia's face with his large hands.

"Yes please," Mia replied. "I'm starving."

Jane carried both plates to the table and he and Mia sat down to enjoy their breakfast.

"What time did you get up this morning?" Mia asked as she cut some of her bacon.

"Hmm," Jane began. "About 05:30."

"Well, at least you slept in a little bit." Mia replied with a smile. "What time are we leaving for Malibu?"

"I was thinking maybe you could pack after breakfast while I head over to the hardware store, and then we can drive through."

"OK," Mia replied as she started to clear away her dishes. "Sounds like a good plan."

"I'll just take a quick shower, then I'll go to the hardware store." Jane said as he stood from the table.

"OK, I'm just gonna finish cleaning up here." Mia said as she grabbed Jane's plate and carried it to the kitchen.

xxxxx

Jane had been to the hardware store and had his purchase stowed safely in his car, while Mia had packed a suitcase for the two of them.

The drive had been long, but it was filled with conversation that flowed easily.

"We're here," Jane said hesitantly as he pulled into the familiar parking space in front of the modern house.

"Wow," Mia said as she looked at the fairly large house. "Who's house is this?"

"Mine," Jane said quickly as he got out of the car and started walking towards the entrance.

"Patrick, wait," Mia said as she quickened her pace to catch up with Jane. "Is this where..."

"Yes," Jane replied quietly. "This is where Red John killed them."

"Patrick, I'm so sorry," Mia said sadly as she hugged Jane tightly. "But why did you bring me here?"

"I wanted to show you something," Jane said as he pulled away and took Mia's hands in his own. "Follow me."

Jane pulled Mia with him as he walked towards the front door. He pulled his keys out and unlocked the door.

The two walked into the dusty house and Jane hung his keys up next to the door.

Jane hesitantly made his way towards the stairs and Mia squeezed his hand in reassurance.

They stood in front of the white door that led into the master bedroom and Jane slowly turned the door knob.

When the door swung open, he was the first one to see the taunting red smiley that had ruined his life so many years ago.

As he walked further into the room, he heard Mia gasp as she too saw the smiley.

"Oh Patrick," Mia said sadly as she hugged Jane and hid her face in the crook of his neck. "I'm so sorry."

"It's OK," came Jane's muffled reply as he tried to hold back the tears. "I wanted to show you, because I need your help... and I need you."

Mia pulled away with confusion as the pieces started to fall into place in her mind.

"Wait... The thing you bought at the hardware store was..." Mia began, but Jane beat her to the answer.

"Paint..." Jane said simply. "I need you to help me paint over the smiley."

"Patrick, are you sure?" Mia asked.

"Absolutely," Jane replied with a small smile. "I've already climbed over a huge bridge by pursuing a relationship with you, so this is the next step."

Mia gave a smile as she kissed Jane sweetly. Mia lifted her right hand and ran it lightly down Jane's cheek.

"Where's the paint?" Mia asked with excitement. "Let's get started."

Jane and Mia went down the stairs towards Jane's car to go and fetch the paint.

"You're lucky I'm wearing jean shorts and a T-shirt." Mia said playfully as Jane opened up the trunk. "Otherwise I would make you pay for laundry."

"At least I dug these jeans and blue shirt out of the back of my cupboard." Jane added his ten cents.

"I didn't even know you owned casual clothing." Mia said as she took the paint rollers from Jane.

"Really?" Jane asked incredulously.

"Yep," Mia replied as they started walking back towards the house. "We've been dating for almost six months and I have never seen you in anything but a three piece suit."

"Well, usually when we see each other it's on the weekend," Jane began as he reached the front door. "And we don't usually wear much on the weekend."

Jane had a cheeky grin as he walked through the door and left Mia standing there with a shocked expression.

"Are you coming?" Jane called from inside of the house.

Mia snapped out of her daze and quickly joined Jane in the master bedroom.

"OK," Mia began as she set the rollers and the paint tray on the floor. "What color paint did you get?"

"Well, I thought maybe a sky blue would be better than this boring old cream color." Jane said as he opened the tin of paint.

"Ooh, I love that color!" Mia said with glee as she came to stand next to Jane.

"Good," Jane said as he put his arm around Mia's waist. "Where should we start?"

"Hmm, maybe we should start with this wall and work our way around until we get to the door." Mia said as she looked to each wall.

"Sound like a plan," Jane said as he poured the paint, picked up a roller and dunked it into the smooth blue liquid.

Jane walked over to the red smiley and froze with the roller just inches from the wall.

"I can't," Jane said quietly. "I can't do it."

Mia walked over to Jane and put her hand over his on the paint roller.

"Of course you can," Mia began reassuringly. "You just need a little bit of help."

Mia slowly pushed Jane's hand forward until the roller hit the wall. She slowly pulled his hand down and the paint started to erase the terror of Jane's past.

With each small stroke, Jane started to feel more and more confident.

Jane started rolling the paint onto the wall with full strokes and Mia took her hand off of his.

Once the smiley was completely erased, Jane turned to Mia with a huge smile on his face.

"I did it," Jane began with excitement. "Thank you so much Mia."

Jane suddenly launched forward and wrapped his arms around Mia.

The momentum of Jane's quick movement caused both him and Mia to fall to the ground, paint roller and all.

The two laughed as Jane rolled off of Mia and lay next to her on the floor.

"You're welcome," Mia said a she curled into Jane's side and tucked her head under his chin.

"I can't believe I painted over the smiley." Jane said softly as he played with Mia's hair. "But I couldn't have done it without you, Mia."

Mia smiled as she leaned up and kissed Jane firmly on the lips.

"Well, come on slacker." Mia said as she stood up off of the floor. "We still have a whole room to paint."

**xxxxx**

After the room had been completely painted, Jane and Mia had enjoyed a restful weekend. They had gone to the beach quite a few times and had bought a queen size matress to sleep on.

Monday came along and found Jane and Mia walking through the doors of CBI.

They didn't have any new cases or anything; Mia just wanted to spend a little time with Jane at CBI... partly because she also loved the worn leather couch that sat in the bull pen.

*As Mia and Jane entered the bull pen, they were met with the sight of Van Pelt, Cho and Rigsby huddled around the bouncing little boy known as Benjamin.

“Benji!” Mia said excitedly as she joined the group of people that surrounded the toddler. “Long time no see.”

“Yeah, Sarah has a court case, day care was cancelled, and the nanny called in sick,” Rigsby said as Jane joined the group and Cho sat down at his desk. “So I have to keep Ben here.”

“Maybe it’s a good thing,” Mia said as she held the boy at her hip. “I hardly get to see this cute little boy.”

“Ha, ha, yeah,” Rigsby replied. “He doesn’t really come around much.”

“He’s getting quite big,” Jane commented as Van Pelt went to her desk as well.

“Well, Sarah thinks Ben might be as tall as me one day,” Rigsby said with a little bit of excitement. “Maybe even a little bit taller.”

“We’ll wait and see,” Jane said with a little smile.

“The only problem with Ben being here is that I can’t concentrate fully on my paper work.” Rigsby said with a sigh as he sat down at his desk.

“We could keep him busy for a little while if you want,” Mia said as she walked over to Jane and Rigsby.

“Really?” Rigsby asked. “That would be awesome.”

“Sure,” Mia replied. “We could take him up to the attic for a little while and play some games with him.”

“Thank you,” Rigsby said. “I’ll be right here if you need anything.”

“We’ll be sure to ask.” Jane said as he followed Mia towards the stairs.

Once inside the attic, Mia set Benjamin down on the floor in front of her and started playing with his tiny little hands.

“He’s so cute,” Mia cooed as Jane took a seat next to her.

“He sure is.” Jane replied as he rubbed one of Ben’s feet.

“Are you OK?” Mia asked with a little bit of concern. “You seem a little down.”

“I’m fine,” Jane assured her. “Just missing Charlotte I guess.”

Mia gave a small smile of sympathy as she gave Jane a quick peck on the cheek.

“I hope you don’t mind me saying that I’m a little jealous of Rigsby.” Jane said suddenly.

“Really?” Mia asked. “Why would you be jealous of Rigsby?”

“I don’t know,” Jane replied as Ben crawled over to him with a giggle. “Maybe I just wish I had more children.”

“Well,” Mia replied slowly. “I could help with that… I just don’t think I’m ready yet…”

“Don’t worry,” Jane replied as he pulled Ben into his lap. “I’m not asking you for anything. Besides, I don’t think I’m ready for another little one.”

“I guess that’s a ‘One Day Promise’,” Mia said with a small smile as she rubbed Benjamin’s soft head.

“A what?” Jane asked with curiosity.

“A ‘One Day Promise’,” Mia replied. “It’s something that you put in an imaginary jar for ‘One Day’.”

“Ah,” Jane replied. “Now I get it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

 

 That night as Jane and Mia lay in bed, Jane could tell that Mia was having an internal battle.

“I can hear you thinking my love,” Jane said as he placed a kiss on Mia’s head. “What is bothering you?”

“I think it’s time,” Mia replied softly.

“Time for what?” Jane asked with a little bit of concern and uncertainty.

“You wanted to know what happened in 2009, right?” Mia asked a she lifted herself on her elbow. “I think it’s time for me to tell you.”

“Are you sure?” Jane asked as he played with a piece of Mia’s hair.

“Positive,” Mia replied with a smile. “I can’t hide it forever.”

“Should I get popcorn?” Jane asked playfully as Mia lay back down again.

“No,” Ma replied with a small chuckle. “It shouldn’t take too long.”

They lay in silence for a while as Mia tried to decide the best way to start her story.

“You ready?” Mia eventually asked.

“Yep,” Jane replied as he ran his fingers along her slender back.

“Well,” Mia began. “I started working for Sac PD in 2007, so by 2009 I had only been working there for two years, which made me somewhat of an amateur. A particularly tough case came along, a lot like the Bortaccelli case. The main difference was that I knew one of the people involved.”

“How did you know them?” Jane asked.

“Jake and I had been friends when we were little kids and he had stayed at the same orphanage as me for a little while.” Mia replied. “We kinda dated a little too, but nothing serious.”

“What happened?” Jane asked.

“Well, we went with my idea of sending the two main suspects home and keeping them under surveillance.” Mia said as she picked up the story once again. “I was sitting in the car with Daniel and we were watching Jake’s house. While Daniel was on the phone, I thought I saw something in the window, so I snuck up to the house to take a look.”

Mia's voice got a little bit quieter as she felt tears prickling at her eyes.

“Then what happened?” Jane asked quietly as he saw Mia trying not to cry.

“Um, I picked the lock and went inside.” Mia carried on with a thick voice. “It was dark, so I didn’t see Jake coming up behind me. He pulled a gun on me and when he realized it was me, he said that he was just protecting himself. But I could tell that he was lying and I knew that he was carrying the murder weapon. But I didn’t question him, because… because I was in love with him at the time.”

“Really?” Jane asked.

“Yeah,” Mia replied as a few tears started leaking from her eyes. “Anyway, he lifted the gun and aimed it at my face and said that he was sorry. He said that he needed the money and that he didn’t know of any other way to get it.”

Jane kissed Mia on the head as he wiped some of her tears away with his calloused thumb.

“While he was pointing the gun at me, I saw a shadow moving in the background.” Mia said as she tried wiping away some of her own tears. “I thought maybe it was Daniel coming to see what was going on, but as the light turned on I saw that it was the other suspect and they had a gun too.”

Jane hugged Mia close as she let loose a few tears, obviously fast forwarding to the end of the tale in her mind.

“Then what?” Jane asked.

“Um, the other guy started yelling at Jake and telling him that he didn’t like that Jake had killed his friend.” Mia replied with a sniffle. “And before I could say anything to stop them from fighting… I heard…”

Mia suddenly burst into tears as she finished the sentence in her mind.

“Shh,” Jane shushed. “You’re not there… You’re here with me.”

“I… I o-opened my eyes and I saw Jake lying on the ground in a p-pool of blood,” Mia sobbed. “And Daniel was towering o-over the other guy’s body.”

“I’m sorry, Mia,” Jane said as he held Mia. “I’m sorry that you lost your friend… and your first love.”

They lay in the dark as Mia’s tears subsided and Jane hummed a sweet tune in her ear.

“Thank you for telling me,” Jane said eventually. “I appreciate that you trust me enough to tell me.”

“Well, you told me everything about yourself, so I felt that it was time I do the same thing.” Mia replied with a small smile. “Maybe we should think about sleeping, I‘m really tired.”

“Of course gorgeous,” Jane replied with a small chuckle. “Sweet dreams.”

**xxxxx**

 About three weeks after Mia had told Jane all about the incident in 2009, things were better for them. Their relationship was stronger than ever now that everything was out in the open.

It was early Thursday morning and Jane and Mia lay in bed as the sun started to stream through a gap in the curtain.

Mia lay on her stomach with her head on the pillow and her hair creating a halo around her head. Jane lay next to her and wiped at his eyes as he tried to wake himself from a good night’s rest.

Jane rolled onto his side as he faced his sleeping beauty.

Jane reached over and cleared some hair away from Mia’s neck so that he could plant a soft kiss there.

“Good morning beautiful,” Jane said, his voice husky from sleep. “Wake up my love.”

Mia groaned as she wiped at her eyes tiredly.

“Can’t I just skip today,” Mia complained. “I’m too tired.”

Jane gave a chuckle as he rolled over and pulled Mia with him.

Mia groaned as if she were in great pain and Jane suddenly became very concerned.

“What’s wrong?” Jane asked hurriedly. “What did I do?”

“No, it’s nothing you did,” Mia replied. “Every muscle in my body is aching. I feel like I got run over by a bus.”

“Oh,” Jane replied simply as he started to calm down a little bit. “Is there anything I can do?”

“No,” Mia replied as her face suddenly turned pale. “But I think I’m gonna be sick…”

Mia suddenly launched out of the bed and ran as fast as she could towards the bathroom.

Jane followed behind Mia and entered the bathroom to find Mia kneeling in front of the toilet heaving the contents of her stomach.

“Go away,” Mia said miserably as she lifted her head to see Jane entering the bathroom. “I don’t want you to see me like this.”

“Please, Mia,” Jane replied with a chuckle as he went down in front of Mia. “I’ve seen you laugh, I’ve seen you cry, and I’ve made love to you. I think I can survive comforting you while you throw up.”

 Mia gave Jane a small smile as she said, "Well, if you're gonna stay here and help me make a fool of myself, could you please hold my hair for me?"

"Gladly, my love," Jane replied as he gathered Mia's hair in his right hand and rubbed her back soothingly with his left.

After Mia's stomach was emptied, she and Jane sat on the bathroom floor in silence. Jane sat with his back against the wall and Mia between his legs.

"When did you start feeling sick?" Jane asked as he held Mia's hands in his own.

"Well, I only started feeling nauseous yesterday," Mia replied tiredly. "But my back has been killing me all week."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jane asked with concern.

"I didn't think it was that serious." Mia replied simply.

"Silly woman," Jane replied with mock anger. "I'll make an appointment for the doctor."

As Jane started getting up off of the floor, Mia yelled protestantly.

"No! Please, I hate doctors."

"I know," Jane replied with a serious tone. "But we need to make sure that it isn't something serious."

"But what about work?" Mia asked, trying any excuse she could.

"We're already late, so I guess we can just take the day off." Jane replied as he reached out his hand to help Mia up.

"Fine," Mia replied with an over exagerated sigh. "I'll take a shower and you go and call the doctor."

"Right away," Jane said as he kissed Mia's hand and left the bathroom.

While Mia took a fairly quick shower, Jane went to make an appointment for the doctor and prepare some tea for him and Mia.

Mia walked into the kitchen as Jane was stirring the two steaming cups of tea.

"How are you feeling?" Jane asked as he carried the two mugs to the small table.

"The shower helped a little for my sore muscles, but not so much for my nausea." Mia replied with a sigh as she pulled her tea towards her.

As Jane took a sip of his tea, Mia brought her mug up to her lips and breathed in.

"What tea is this?" Mia asked with a look of disgust.

"It's Earl-Grey," Jane replied with confusion. "Why do you ask?"

"It just smells funny," Mia replied.

"Let me smell," Jane said as Mia handed him the mug. Jane took a sniff and a sip. "It smells and tastes fine to me."

"Maybe it's just me." Mia replied as she lay her head on her arms. "What time is the doctor's appointment?"

"In half an hour," Jane replied as he looked at the clock on the wall. "Let me hop in the shower."

Jane stood from the table and gave Mia a kiss on the top of her head as he walked past and made his way to the bathroom.

**xxxxx**

The waiting room at the doctor's office wasn't too full.

There was an elderly couple, a mother with her young son, and a middle-aged man with glasses.

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Mia whispered impatiently as she leaned her head on Jane's shoulder.

"Not too long my love," Jane replied as he put his arm around Mia and pulled her closer. "I think we're next."

Jane's phone buzzed in his pocket indicating that he had a text message.

Jan pulled his phone out and flipped it open to see that he had a message from Lisbon.

Jane read the text with a small chuckle and Mia looked at him with a curious expression.

"What's so funny?" Mia asked as she leaned over to get a look at Jane's phone.

The text message from Lisbon read:

_**Where the hell are you?** _

_**Taking another day off?** _

_**If so, please say so and don't assume that everybody is psychic -_-** _

"What are you gonna tell her?" Mia asked.

"I'll just tell her I'm taking the day off." Jane replied simply as he typed a quick reply and stuck his phone back in his pocket.

Just as Jane and Mia got comortable once again, a short nurse with blonde hair called out, "Mia Black?"

Jane and Mia both stood from their seats as Jane grabbed Mia's hand and took the lead.

"If you'll just have a seat," The nurse began as she opened the door to the doctor's office. "The doctor will be with you in a moment."

Jane and Mia sat in the chairs in front of the doctor’s desk and Mia started nervously playing with Jane’s ring on her finger.

“Everything will be fine.” Jane said softly in an attempt to calm Mia down.

Just as Mia was about to reply to Jane, the doctor walked in with a file in his hand.

“Good morning,” The doctor greeted as Jane and Mia stood to shake hands.

“Mia Black,” The doctor said as he shook Mia’s hand. “And you are?”

“I’m Patrick Jane,” Jane replied as he shook the doctor’s hand.

“He’s my boyfriend.” Mia added in with a small smile.

“Ah,” The doctor replied. “Well, I am Doctor Maverick.”

Jane and Mia sat in their seats again and the doctor sat on the edge of his desk.

“So, what can I help you with?” Dr. Maverick asked.

“Well, I woke up this morning and all of my muscles were aching,” Mia replied. “Plus, I’m feeling a little nauseous.”

“Hmm,” The doctor hummed. “Could you just have a seat on the examination table please?”

“Sure,” Mia replied a little nervously as she stood and walked over to the examination table.

“Alright,” The doctor began as he grabbed his tools. “Say ‘ah’ please.”

Mia did as the doctor asked and Jane gave her a look of encouragement.

After the doctor had finished his checkup, Mia sat in her seat and the doctor sat and read his files.

Mia gave Jane a look that clearly meant she was getting annoyed with the doctor’s silence.

“It seems that you are perfectly healthy.” Dr. Maverick said as he closed the file.

“What?” Mia asked incredulously. “Then why do I feel so sick?”

“To find that out I think we’ll need to take some urine samples and blood tests.” Dr. Maverick replied.

“How long do you think the tests will take?” Jane asked as he took Mia’s hand in his.

“About an hour,” Dr. Maverick replied. “Half an hour could be doable since we aren’t too busy today.”

“Alright,” Jane replied. “I think we should do the tests.”

“I’ll get right on that.” Dr. Maverick replied as he stood from his desk. “Let me just contact the lab.”

After the doctor had left the room, Mia slouched in her chair and heaved a sigh.

“Don’t worry,” Jane said as he squeezed Mia’s hand. “We’ll get through this. We’re in this together.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

 

"Ugh, how much longer can this take?" Mia asked impatiently as she paced up and down in the waiting room.

After she and Jane had come out, the room had cleared considerably and they seemed to be the only ones left.

"Not much longer," Jane replied simply as he leaned against the wall.

"We've been waiting here for over an hour." Mia complained as she stopped pacing and came to stand in front of Jane.

"The doctor said it could take an hour or so for the results to come through." Jane said as he took Mia's hands in his. "Stop worrying, everything will be fine."

"Easy for you to say," Mia mumbled under her breath.

"You just need a distraction." Jane said with a cheeky grin as he leaned closer to Mia.

Jane kissed Mia sweetly and softly to try and calm her down. Mia put her hand on Jane's cheek as he pulled her flush against his body.

Jane broke the kiss and saw that Mia had a small smile that wasn't there before.

"That's quite a good distraction." Mia replied with a small giggle as she played with the lapels of Jane's suit jacket.

Just as Mia was about to lean forward and link their lips again, the doctor walked up with file in hand.

"Miss Black?" Dr. Maverick said as he walked up to Jane and Mia.

"Yes doctor?" Mia said awkwardly as she stepped out of Jane's warm embrace.

"I have the test results." Dr. Maverick said, waving the papers in the air. "If you'll please come with me, I can tell you the results."

Mia wanted to protest but Jane simply put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her with him as he followed behind the doctor.

Once Jane, Mia and Dr. Maverick had taken their seats, the doctor laid the test results down in front of him.

"Well, according to the test results you are perfectly healthy." Dr. Maverick said with a smile.

"Wait, but if I'm not sick, why do I feel so terrible?" Mia asked with a confused expression.

"Actually you are healthy enough to support two people." Dr. Maverick said with a smile. "Congratulations, you're pregnant."

Mia's jaw literally dropped as her brain tried to register what the doctor had said. Jane was pretty sure that if he'd been drinking some tea, he would've done a perfect spit take.

"Are... are you sure?" Mia asked with uncertainty.

"Absolutely," The doctor replied. "Here is the name of a friend of mine who can do the ultra-sound for you and I suggest you maybe take some extra vitamins that are specifically for pregnant women."

Mia took the business card with slightly shaking hands and looked to Jane with a brief look of uncertainty.

"I suggest you make an appointment with Dr. St. Claire as soon as possible so you can find out more or less how far along you are." Dr. Maverick said as he stood and ushered Jane and Mia to the door.

"Thank you doctor." Jane said as he shook the doctor's hand and followed behind Mia as she headed for his blue Citroën.

The drive back to Mia’s apartment was filled with silence as both Jane and Mia tried to wrap their brains around the fact that Mia was now carrying Jane’s child.

Jane pulled into the parking lot of Mia’s apartment complex and Mia got out of the car and headed to the door.

Jane soon followed behind Mia, but as soon as he got inside of the apartment he realized that Mia was nowhere to be seen.

“Mia?” Jane called with uncertainty and confusion.

Jane walked through the hallway and into the various rooms until he finally found Mia sitting on the bedroom floor with a thin blanket over her entire body.

“Mia?” Jane said as he sat next to her trembling form. “Why are you hiding?”

“Just go away.” Mia said with a sniffle. “This whole thing was a mistake.”

“Don’t say that.” Jane said as he lifted the blanket off of Mia’s head.

“But it’s true,” Mia complained as the tears ran down her cheeks. “This relationship was doomed from the start.”

“Why do you say that?” Jane asked as he wiped a tear from Mia’s cheek.

“Well, we’ve been threatened by Red John, we’ve both nearly died and now I’m pregnant.” Mia huffed as she buried her head in her hands.

“Why is being pregnant a bad thing?” Jane asked with confusion.

“We agreed that we weren’t ready for this, Patrick.” Mia said angrily. “That’s why it’s a bad thing.”

Jane gave a small chuckle as he put his arm around Mia’s shoulders and placed a kiss on her hair.

“Maybe we’ve always been ready,” Jane began. “We just needed the extra push.”

“Are you sure?” Mia asked. “I just don’t want me and this baby to be replacements for… Angela and Charlotte.”

“What makes you think that’ll happen?” Jane asked as he took Mia’s trembling hand in his. “I’ve already told you that I’ve moved on. Besides, they’re both gone and they can’t do anything for me.”

“I don’t know if this is such a good idea…” Mia said as she leaned her head against Jane’s shoulder.

“It will all be fine,” Jane reassured Mia as he pulled her close to him. “We can do this together… Plus I’m a little excited about having a baby.”

Mia laughed along with Jane as she snuggled closer to him and tucked her head under his chin.

“I’m a little scared,” Mia said. “But also really excited. I can’t believe I have a little person inside of my tummy.”

**xxxxx**

Jane and Mia woke up early the next morning as Mia wasn't feeling too well.

At about seven thirty Jane and Mia lay in bed and tried to decide whether to go to work or not.

Unfortunately, work wanted to make the decision for them.

“Good morning, Lisbon,” Jane said as he answered the phone. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

_**“Um, you have work to do of course.”**_ Lisbon replied sarcastically. _**“We’ve got a new case.”**_

“I’ll be right there.” Jane replied with a sigh.

Just as Jane put his phone down on the bedside table, Mia’s phone rang as well, indicating that Daniel was calling her.

“Looks like it’s my turn,” Mia said with a small smile as she answered the phone. “Hey Daniel… No, I can come in today… Really? We’re working with the CBI? Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better… OK, I’ll see you there. Bye.”

Mia put down the phone with a sigh and snuggled into Jane’s side once again.

“Did you know that CBI and Sac PD are working together on this case?” Mia asked with mock surprise.

“Really?  I never would’ve guessed.” Jane replied sarcastically as he pulled Mia closer.

**xxxxx**

Jane and Mia arrived at the crime scene in separate cars as they didn’t want to give their secret away.

They found Daniel and Lisbon engaged in conversation  with one of the CSI personnel.

“Glad to see you two finally joined us.” Lisbon said as soon as she spotted Jane and Mia walking closer.

“How are you feeling Mia?” Daniel asked with some concern.

“I’m feeling a little better,” Mia replied with a brief glance in Jane’s direction. “Just a little tired.”

“Well, the victim is thirty-two year old Michael Solinsky. His body was found this morning by a bunch of kids who were playing here in the forest.” Daniel said as he indicated to the beautiful trees around them.

“Did the kids say anything?” Jane asked with curiosity.

“No,” Lisbon replied. “As soon as they found the body they ran home and told their parents.”

“Well, maybe we can find something.” Mia said with a glance at Jane. “Where is the body?”

“It’s just down here between these trees.” Daniel replied as he led the way.

"The body seems to be a few days old, but the coroner says that the cause of death was probably a slit to the throat." Lisbon said as they approached the body.

Unfortunately, as soon as Mia smelt and saw the body she excused herself and went deeper into the forest to empty her stomach.

"Is she OK?" Lisbon asked curiously.

"Why don't I go and check." Jane said as he went in the same direction as Mia had a few seconds ago.

"Mia?" Jane called as he saw her bending over with her hand on her mouth. "Hey, are you OK?"

"I'm so embarassed." Mia replied as Jane helped her stand upright. "I haven't puked at the sight of a corpse since my first day with Sac PD."

"I think we all puked on our first day." Jane replied with a small smile as he ran his hand down her cheek. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Somewhat." Mia replied weakly. "I don't think I should go near the body though."

"Don't worry," Jane replied as he and Mia started walking back. "The body can't tell us anything anyway."

"I'm conflicted as to whether that's a good or a bad thing." Mia replied as she and Jane started walking back towards the crime scene.

"Are you OK, Mia?" Daniel asked with concern as Jane and Mia emerged from the shrubbery.

"Yeah," Mia replied with a blush. "I guess my stomach just isn't one hundred percent yet."

“Do you wanna take the rest of the day off?” Daniel asked.

“No, I wanna solve this case.” Mia replied with determination.

“Alrighty, then let’s go and talk to some witnesses.” Daniel replied as he rubbed his hands together.

The four law enforcement employees walked over to a group of people that included two upset parents and three frightened children.

“Hey kids,” Jane said as he and Mia headed straight for the group of kids who seemed to be between the ages of seven and ten. “My name is Patrick and this is Mia. We work for the police.”

Jane’s introduction, however, was met with silence and some skeptical glances from the kids.

“Anyway, we’re here to figure out who killed that man.” Mia said as she knelt down in front of the boys. “Did you guys maybe see anybody in the woods before or after you found the body?”

Once again there was silence and Mia glanced up at Jane who was standing behind her.

Mia stood and turned to Jane with a look that said they needed to make another plan as to how to get answers out of the boys.

“Looks like we’re gonna have to try bribery.” Jane whispered to Mia with a grin as he pulled three lollipops out of his pocket.

“Where did you get those?” Mia asked.

“Magic,” Jane replied as he turned to the boys and offered each one a lollipop. “Do you like those? Good, now how about you tell us your names?”

The boys shared a glance, but Jane and Mia already new that they were hooked.

“My name is Jared,” one of the boys, the oldest one by the looks of it, answered. “This is TJ…”

“And I’m Marcus,” The youngest boy said with confidence as he sucked on his cherry lollipop. “I’m seven years old.”

“Wow,” Mia said as she knelt down once again to be at eye level with the boy. “You’re a big boy, aren’t you? Well, since you’re so big, would you mind telling us what happened this morning?"

Marcus’ confidence suddenly disappeared as he looked to his peers for reassurance.

“You’re not in trouble Marcus,” Jane said as he knelt next to Mia. “You can tell us. We’re here to help.”

“Well,” Marcus replied with one last glance at his friends. “We were playing explorers this morning in the forest.”

“Explorers?” Mia asked. “Wow, that sounds like fun.”  

“We were climbing in the jungle looking for artifacts.” The little boy named TJ said as he stepped forward.

“Really?” Jane asked, now joining in with the questioning. “What artifacts were you looking for?”

“Lots and lots of treasure!” The last boy, Jared, said. “But instead we found that guy sitting under the tree.”

“Was he sitting under the tree when you found him?” Mia asked.

“Yeah,” Jared replied. “We thought he was reading a book or something.”

“We decided to sneak up on him and scare him.” TJ said. “But when we jumped out from behind the tree…”

“We saw the blood and ran away.” Marcus finished.

“You know what,” Mia said as she took Marcus’ little hand in hers, much to the amusement of Jane. “All of you were very brave today, no matter what anybody says.”

The three boys shared glances of reassurance as Jane looked at Mia with admiration in his eyes.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Marcus said as he dug in his pocket. “I found this treasure by the man in the forest.”

Marcus put a chain in Mia’s waiting hand. On the chain was a beautiful stone cut in the shape of a heart with the letters _**M &S**_ carved on the back.

“Where exactly did you find this necklace, Marcus?” Mia asked as she examined the chain closely.

“I found it lying next to the man.” Marcus replied. “I saw it lying on the ground because it was shiny.”

“Thank you again boys,” Jane said as he and Mia stood. “You were all wonderful today.”

“Bye, bye, Patrick and Mia.” The boys said as they all grouped together and hugged both Jane and Mia in turn. “Thank you for the lollipops.”

Jane and Mia were both taken by surprise at the hugs. Jane looked at Mia with compassion in his eyes as he and Mia remembered the many conversations they had had the day before regarding the new Jane that was on the way. 

“You’re welcome boys.” Jane said as the boys released his and Mia’s legs and ran off to join their parents again.

This left Jane and Mia in silence.

“So,” Jane said. “You still not sure about the B-A-B-Y?”

“Nah,” Mia replied with a small smile. “Maybe a little, but I know that we’re going to be fine.”

The two started leaning closer, but were interrupted when Lisbon asked, “Did you guys get anything?”

“Uh, yeah,” Mia replied as a blush covered her cheeks. “One of the boys found this necklace next to the victim’s body.”

Mia handed Lisbon the necklace as Jane subtly put his hand to the small of her back, knowing that her muscle fatigue was still present.

“Huh, I wonder what the 'S' stands for.” Lisbon said as she looked over the necklace. “I’ll just bag and tag this. In the meantime, you guys see if you can find out what the 'S' stands for.”

“Yes ma’am,” Jane said with a salute as Lisbon walked away. “Let’s go and research the mysterious 'S'.”

Jane started walking towards his car when he realized that Mia was still rooted to the spot.

“Mia?” Jane asked with concern. “Are you OK?”

Mia’s face suddenly turned pale as she slowly shook her head.

“No,” Mia mumbled. “I feel dizzy.”

Jane quickly rushed to Mia’s side as she slowly started falling. Jane caught her and lowered her to her knees as he rested her head against his shoulder.

“Mia?” Jane said as he felt a thin layer of sweat forming on Mia’s brow. “Did you eat breakfast this morning?”

“No,” Mia replied miserably. “There was no time.”

“Oh Mia,” Jane said with a little bit of anger, but more concern. “You can’t skip meals now that you’re pregnant.”

“I’m sorry Patrick,” Mia said as she started to regain her strength.

“Do you think you can stand?” Jane asked as he moved a piece of hair out of Mia’s eyes.

“Yeah,” Mia replied. “I can stand.”

“But you’re not driving.” Jane said firmly as he helped Mia to her feet. “I’ll find someone to drive your car to Sac PD.”

“OK,” Mia replied, surprisingly easily. “I just wanna sleep.”

“OK babe,” Jane replied as he and Mia started making their way towards Jane’s car. “You can sleep while we drive to our next destination.”

“Which is?” Mia asked.

“The girlfriend’s house.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

 

 After some breakfast at a nearby diner, which allowed Jane and Mia some time to find out where the victim’s girlfriend lived, the familiar blue Citroen pulled up in front of a small house.

“Are you feeling better?” Jane asked as he and Mia walked up to the front door hand in hand.

“Much,” Mia replied simply as she dropped Jane’s hand and rang the doorbell.

The door opened to reveal a blonde woman in her early twenties.

“Hi, can I help you?” The woman asked.

“Yes, we’re here about a man named Michael Solinsky.” Jane said as the woman opened the door a little wider. 

“My boyfriend?” The woman asked with confusion. “What about him?”

“We found his body in a nearby forest this morning.” Mia said and immediately noticed the change in the other woman’s body language. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“When did he die?” The woman asked as tears sprung to her eyes.

“He died a couple of days ago.” Jane replied. “May we come in?”

“Um, of course,” The woman replied with slight embarrassment. “Come right this way.”

Jane and Mia followed as the woman led them through the small hallway and into the living room.

“Um, I’m Sarah Marks.” Sarah shook both of their hands.

"I'm Patrick Jane and this is Mia Black." Jane said as he and Mia took their seats on the couch. "I work for CBI and Mia works for Sac PD."

"Wow, I didn't know you two were agents." Sarah replied.

"Oh, we're not agents." Mia said with a small smile. "We're consultants."

"That makes more sense." Sarah said with a nod of her head. "You two don't really look like cops."

"That's our goal." Jane said with his megawatt grin.

"Can I get you two anything to drink?" Sarah asked.

"No thank you," Jane replied. "When was the last time you saw your boyfriend, Michael?"

"Um, I saw him on Wednesday, which is about two days ago." Sarah replied. “I just can’t believe he’s gone.”

“How often did you two see each other?” Mia asked.

“Usually every couple of days or so,” Sarah replied. “Depends on whether he was working or not.”

“Where did Michael work?” Jane asked with intrigue.

“He worked at a convenience store that his brother owns.” Sarah replied as she handed Jane a business card.

“Family business?” Jane asked as he handed the business card to Mia.

“No, Jackson just felt sorry for his brother,” Sarah replied sadly. “They didn’t have a very good relationship.”

“Thank you very much, Sarah,” Jane said as he and Mia stood to leave.

“If there’s anything you can think of that might help with the case, don’t hesitate to call.” Mia said as she handed Sarah a business card that Jane had never seen before.

“I will,” Sarah replied with a small smile.

After Sarah had closed the door, Jane took Mia’s hand in his with a smirk.

“Whose business card was that anyway?” Jane asked as he opened the car door for Mia. 

“Mine.” Mia replied simply as she got into the car.

Jane had a confused expression on his face as he sat in the driver’s seat and turned his body to Mia.

“Your business card?”

 “Yes, I have my own business cards,” Mia replied as if it were the simplest thing on the planet. “Don’t you?”

“No,” Jane replied slowly. “I’m just a consultant, so I don’t get business cards.”

“Huh, I thought all consultants had business cards.” Mia said thoughtfully. “Daniel gave them to me after my first year at Sac PD.”

Jane gave a small chuckle that surprised Mia.

“What?” Mia asked with all seriousness. “What’s so funny?”

“What’s funny is what you don’t realize my dear.” Jane replied.

“What don’t I realize?” Mia asked with some worry.

“That your friend Daniel has a small crush on you.” Jane replied simply.

“He does not.” Mia protested loudly with a small smile of embarrassment.

“Of course he does,” Jane replied. “That’s why he’s so protective of you.”

“No, that’s just a brotherly concern.” Mia replied.

“Uh huh,” Jane replied. “I am a man as well my dear and I have noticed the way Detective Reese’s pupils dilate at the sight of you in your simple dress shirt.”

Mia slapped Jane on the arm and her cheeks turned bright red as she thought about what Jane had said.

“You are just gross.” Mia replied.

“It’s true,” Jane replied. “Just look at my eyes.”

Mia looked into Jane’s crystal eyes and saw that his pupils were dilated as he watched her.

“That’s different,” Mia said softly as she leaned in a little closer. “You have a reason for diluted pupils, Daniel doesn’t.”

“And what is my valid reason?” Jane asked with amusement as he realized they were getting closer and talking softer.

“Well,” Mia said with a sigh as she put her hands on Jane’s chest. “You’re the one who’s seen me without the shirt.”

Mia had an evil grin as Jane’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

“I suppose that is a valid reason.” Jane said with a slight falter in his voice.

Mia gave a small giggle as she closed the distance between them and connected her lips with Jane’s.

The kiss was passionate as Mia reached up and ran her hands through Jane’s golden curls.

Just as Jane ventured a hand under Mia’s shirt and up her back, she pulled away and ended the kiss.

“Come on,” Mia said as she straightened her clothes let’s go and see what the others have found.

“Yes my dear.” Jane said with a sigh as he started the car.

**xxxxx**

Jane and Mia had arrived at CBI and found themselves explaining their whereabouts to a very angry Lisbon and a very worried Daniel.

"Where the hell did you two go?" Lisbon asked angrily as she sat at her desk. "You're like freakin' Hudini and his disappearing assistant. I literaly turned my back for ten minutes and when I looked again you two were nowhere to be seen."

Jane and Mia were sitting in the two chairs in front of Lisbon's desk like teenagers in the principal's office, while Daniel paced up and down behind them.

"We went for breakfast, Lisbon." Jane replied simply.

"And you didn't bother to tell anyone?" Lisbon fumed.

"We were also following up on a lead." Mia replied.

"What lead?" Daniel asked with curiosity.

“We spoke to the victim’s girlfriend,” Jane replied. “Otherwise known as the ‘Mysterious S’.”

“You mean the 'S' that was on the necklace the boys found?” Lisbon asked with confusion.

“The very same one.” Mia replied with a smile.

“How did you get the girlfriend’s details?” Daniel asked as he leaned against Lisbon’s desk.

“I called Van Pelt and asked her look and see if Michael had any next of kin, or any recent girlfriends.” Jane replied simply. “She notified us of one recent girlfriend named Sarah Marks.”

“How come Van Pelt didn’t tell us about the girlfriend?” Lisbon asked somewhat angrily.

“Did you ask her?” Mia asked.

“Well, no, but she should have told me if she knew where you guys were.” Lisbon replied a little sheepishly.

“Anyway,” Jane began, changing the subject. “We found out that our victim had a brother who employed him out of pity.”

“We have a business card that Sarah gave us.” Mia said as she handed said business card to Daniel, who was perched on the desk in front of her.

“’Solinsky Convenience’,” Daniel read of off the little card in his hands. “I suppose I can have two of my team go and check it out.” Daniel said as he handed the card over to Lisbon.

“Sure thing,” Lisbon replied as Daniel stood to rally his troops. “Let me know if you get anything.”

“Of course, Agent Lisbon.” Daniel said as he reached the door.

“Um, Mia?” Daniel added as he stopped in the doorway and turned to Mia. “Could I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure,” Mia replied as she stood from her seat and followed Daniel out.

“What’s up?” Mia asked when she and Daniel stopped in the hallway.

“Are you OK?” Daniel asked. “How are you feeling?”

“What do you mean?” Mia asked with brief confusion before recognition dawned on her face. “Oh, right, I’m actually feeling a lot better.”

“Good,” Daniel replied with a smile as he pulled Mia in for a brief hug. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

Mia just gave a smile as Jane’s earlier words about Daniel’s supposed “crush” came to mind.

“I’ll see you later.” Daniel said as he started walking towards the elevators.

“Yeah, see you later.” Mia replied as she started making her way to the bullpen, where she assumed Jane had migrated to.

Fortunately, Mia was right and she found Jane nursing a cup of tea with another on his knee just for her.

“I think you were right Patrick,” Mia said as she sat next to Jane and took the cup of tea from him.

“What about?” Jane asked as he took a sip of his tea.

“I think Daniel does have a crush on me.” Mia said as she too took a sip of her hot drink.

“Don’t worry,” Jane replied as he reached for Mia’s hand. “You’re already taken.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

    
When Daniel and his team got back to CBI, they shared what they had found out about the brother.

“Jackson Solinski is a very uncaring man.” Daniel said as everyone gathered around in the bullpen.

“What makes you say that?” Rigsby asked as he leaned against his desk.

“Well, when we asked about his brother, Michael, he showed a great amount of disinterest and not much compassion.” Alistair replied.

“Maybe he killed his brother,” Van Pelt suggested. “That would explain why he doesn’t feel sorry for him.”

“True,” David Flood replied. “But Jackson doesn’t seem like the killing type. He’s too… stupid.”

There came a giggle from where Jane and Mia sat on the brown leather couch.

“Care to share?” Lisbon asked.

“Ah, no,” Jane replied. “Carry on.”

“Anyway, we didn’t see anything that points to the brother directly.” Lisa said. “But I agree with David, that guy couldn’t even sell toothpaste to a toothbrush.”

Another giggle.

“Do you guys know something that we don’t?” Daniel asked as he turned to the two consultants.

“Nope,” Mia replied. “Just an inside joke.”

“Basically we have no leads.” Lisbon said dejectedly. “Maybe we’re asking the wrong questions.”

“Or the wrong people.” Jane whispered to Mia.

“That’s it,” Lisbon said. “Spit it out.”

“Fine,” Mia replied. “We think that maybe Sarah was cheating on Michael with Jackson. When Michael found out, he decided to confront his brother, but the conversation went mucky.”

“That’s why the cause of death was blunt force trauma.” Jane added. “Jackson got angry and hit Michael with a nearby branch.”

“But if Jackson did kill his brother, surely he would’ve left the country by now.” Van Pelt said.

“But then he would leave a heart-broken Sarah and she would immediately suspect him.” Mia replied. “The only reason Jackson is still here is because Sarah is pregnant.”

“How do you know she’s pregnant?” Daniel asked suspiciously.

“Well, she was a faint green color when we went to see her, plus she switched from happy to teary way too quickly.” Mia said.

“Huh,” Jane replied. “Good observation. I couldn’t tell she was pregnant.”

“Hmm,” Mia replied. “I would’ve thought you would’ve noticed right away.” Mia replied knowingly.

The other occupants in the room shared looks of confusion at Mia’s comment.

“Either way, I think Pat… I mean Jane and I should check the brother out again.” Mia said, trying to cover her brief slip of the tongue.

“Um, sure,” Daniel replied. “Maybe you two can read something different.”

“Alright, let’s go talk to Jackson.” Mia said hastily as she stood from her seat and started walking towards the elevator.

**xxxxx**

Jane pulled his little Citroen up in front of the convenience store owned by Jackson Solinski.

Jane turned the key in the ignition, shutting off the engine of the car.

“So, how do you wanna do this?” Jane asked Mia as they watched the people walking in and out of the little convenience store.

“Maybe we should just be direct.” Mia replied.

“Hmm,” Jane hummed as he thought. “Why don’t we play the guilt card?”

“Nah, that could take too long.” Mia replied. “I think we should just ask him what he knows and see if his story matches up with Daniel’s version.”

“Alright,” Jane replied. “Lead the way my love.”

The bell jingled on top of the door as Jane and Mia walked into the little store.

The two consultants walked over to the front desk and looked around in confusion as they saw no one in the store.

“Maybe he’s on a lunch break.” Jane said simply as he looked over the edge of the counter.

“Or he’s in there.” Mia replied as she pointed to a little store room at the back of the little shop. “Someone’s having a very heavy argument in there.”

Jane and Mia quietly walked to the little door that stood open just a fraction of a hair.

“How could you do something like that?” They heard a woman, probably Sarah, say inside. “He’s your brother.”

“Was my brother.” Jackson said angrily. “He wanted to take you away from me.”

“With good reason,” Sarah replied. “I understand why Michael wanted us to leave. He wanted to give me a better life.”

“And take my child away from me.” Jackson yelled. “That baby is mine, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that baby is yours.” Sarah replied.

Jane and Mia just shared a glance as Mia’s observations about Sarah proved to be true.

“You were right about Sarah being pregnant.” Jane whispered to Mia. “Good job.”

Mia gave a smile as they heard silence coming from the little room they were crouched next to.

Mia craned her neck to try and hear better when the door suddenly swung open to reveal angry Jackson wielding a knife.

Jane and Mia shot to their feet as Jackson swung the blade in their direction.

Mia cried in pain as she clutched at her right arm that now had a huge gash along it.

Jackson started running as fast as he could towards the door.

“Mia, are you OK?” Jane asked with concern.

“I’m fine, just go after him.” Mia said with a grunt of pain. “I’ll call Daniel.”

“Can’t I just wait ‘til Daniel gets here?” Jane asked with a bit of a whining tone.

“No, just go after him.” Mia replied with some anger.

“OK, OK,” Jane replied as he started walking towards the door. “I’ll catch him.”

Jane chased after Jackson, telling himself that he was running for Mia’s sake, because Patrick Jane didn’t usually run after criminals.

Just as Jackson was about to run across the street, a black SUV raced towards him and slammed him against its hood.

Inside the car was none other than Detective Daniel Reese.

“It’s about time you showed up.” Jane said breathlessly as he rested his hands on his knees. “I think we must have run a couple of miles.”

“More like a couple of blocks.” Daniel replied as he cuffed Jackson. “Where’s Mia?”

“She’s back at the convenience store,” Jane replied. “But she’s hurt.”

“Let’s go.” Daniel said quickly as he threw Jackson in the back of his car and he and Jane climbed into the car.

Daniel pulled his car into one of the parking spaces and Jane ran into the convenience store.

“Mia?” Jane called as he burst through the doors.

“I’m back here with Sarah.” Mia yelled from the little store room.

Jane ran to the little store room with Daniel in tow.

As soon as Jane saw Mia, he hugged her close and looked her over to make sure her bleeding arm was the only injury she had.

Daniel in the meantime had grabbed his handcuffs and cuffed Sarah’s hand.

“Mia, are you OK?” Daniel asked as he started steering Sarah towards the door.

“I’m fine; I just need a bandage or two.” Mia replied as Jane took her arm and looked at the nasty cut down the inside of her forearm.

“You might need more than a bandage.” Jane said as he looked into Mia’s eyes.

“I’m fine Patrick,” Mia tried to persuade Jane. “I just need to sit down.”

“OK,” Jane said as he sat next to Mia and tried to stop the blood.

“I’ll call the paramedics.” Daniel said as he pushed Sarah through the door.

“How far did you have to run?” Mia asked Jane as she leaned her head against Jane’s shoulder.

“Daniel thinks I ran a couple of blocks, but it felt a hell of a lot like a mile.” Jane replied with some seriousness.

Mia just chuckled at Jane’s theory of how far he had to run to catch Jackson.

Eventually the paramedics got to the convenience store and tended to Mia and Jackson’s wounds.

It seems that if you run with a blade and get hit by a car, it can hurt quite a bit.

Jane walked over to Mia who was being tended to by a young, handsome paramedic.

This didn’t amuse Jane, what did was the fact that the paramedic was clearly trying to flirt with Mia, but she was ignoring all of his flirty comments and advances.

“How are you feeling?” Jane asked as he approached Mia.

“Why do people keep asking me that?” Mai asked as she thanked the paramedic and stood from her seat in the back of the ambulance.

“Maybe because you’ve got a huge gash in your arm,” Jane replied as he helped Mia step out of the ambulance. “Or maybe it’s the fact that you don’t have just yourself to worry about anymore.”

“Shh,” Mia said as she looked around to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation. “Not so loud.”

“OK,” Jane said as he moved a stray hair out of Mia’s eyes. “You are OK though, right? Both of you?”

“Yes,” Mia replied with a smile as she rested her hand on her stomach that still seemed relatively flat. “We are both fine.”

“Good,” Jane said with a broad grin as he kissed Mia on the cheek. “After Jackson had met the hood of Daniel’s car, he decided to sing like a bird.”

“That’s good.” Mia said as she and Jane started walking towards all of the other agents.

“It seems your theory was correct.” Daniel said as Jane and Mia joined the group. “Well done again you two.”

“Thank you Daniel.” Mia replied with a smile as she fiddled with the bandage that covered her new stitches on her arm.

“Well, I guess our work here is done.” Jane said as he clapped his hands together.

“For now,” Lisbon replied with a small smile. “We were all heading to the local bar if you two want to join us.”

Jane and Mia shared a glance as they had a silent conversation.

“Um, sure,” Mia replied. “I just won’t drink anything, because the paramedic gave me some pain killers and I don’t think alcohol would agree with them.”

Jane and Mia both knew that that wasn’t the entire truth, but they were glad when the rest of the agents seemed to buy their lie.

“Alright, water it is then.” Daniel said as he led the way.

“It’s a good thing they bought that.” Jane whispered to Mia.

“Yeah, but what’s Daniel gonna think when I ask for vacation time that is as long as standard maternity leave.” Mia replied as she took Jane’s hand in hers.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it my love.” Jane said. “First, let’s just focus on keeping me sober enough to not have a hangover when we go to have the ultrasound tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Mia replied with a smile. “That’s probably a good idea.”

**xxxxx**

Jane and Mia were standing in front of the doors for Dr. St Claire, who was going to do the ultrasound for them.

“I’m a little scared,” Mia admitted as she fiddled with Jane’s ring on her finger.

“Don’t worry,” Jane said as he stilled her hands. “We are going to see our beautiful baby. Although it won’t be that big, we’ll still be able to see it and find out how far along you are.”

“I know, but I’m still scared.” Mia replied. “I mean, I’ve never had an ultrasound for _**anything**_ before.”

“I’m right here,” Jane reassured. “I’ll be here every step of the way.”

“OK,” Mia replied with renewed confidence. “Lets’ do this.”

Jane and Mia walked into the little waiting room just outside of Dr. St. Claire’s office and took a seat while they waited for their names to be called. Jane put his hand on Mia’s knee to calm her a little as he knew they both a lot of things running through their heads.

Eventually the receptionist behind the front desk called out Jane and Mia’s names and said that Dr. St. Claire was ready to see them.

So, with shaking hands Mia led the way with Jane in tow as they went to go and see their beautiful baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

 

“It’s not very big,” Mia said as she lay with her head against Jane’s chest. “Not big at all.”

“Well, you are only three weeks, so it shouldn’t be very big.” Jane replied as he took the picture of their tiny ‘baby’ from Mia’s hands.

“I know, I still expected it to be bigger though.” Mia said as she admired the black and white photo that Dr. St. Claire had given them.

“Don’t worry, it’ll get bigger soon.” Jane said as he put the photo on the bedside table and turned to Mia. “Soon he/she will be kicking like a kangaroo and then running around like a monkey.”

“I’ll admit that that part scares me a little bit.” Mia said as she snuggled closer to Jane. “You know, the whole ‘running around like a monkey’ part.”

“Well, when the time comes, we’ll be chasing after the little monkey together.” Jane said reassuringly as he placed a kiss on Mia’s temple.

“What do you think our baby will look like?” Mia asked with curiosity.

“Hmm, well, with your hair color being darker than mine, it’ll either be hair like yours, or a bright red carrot top.” Jane said with a smile as he tried to picture a little red-headed baby running around. “Plus, if it’s a girl I’ll probably have to get a shotgun as she’ll be a real heartbreaker.”

Mia couldn’t help the small chuckle that passed her lips at the thought of Jane wielding a shotgun and warning little kids to stay away from his princess.

“Well, I already know that his/her hair will be _**super**_ curly, because we both have curly hair.” Mia said as she drew imaginary shapes on Jane’s chest.

“I guess we’ll have to wait to find out all the wonderful things about our little one.” Jane said as he placed his large hand on Mia’s relatively flat stomach.

“Thank you,” Mia said after a moment of comfortable silence.

“What for?” Jane asked with puzzlement.

“For giving me the opportunity to have a beautiful baby.” Mia said as she rolled onto Jane’s chest and pecked him on the lips.

“Thank you for helping me move on and make a beautiful baby.” Jane said as he played with one of Mia’s curls.

Mia gave a smile as she linked her lips with Jane’s in a passionate kiss. Jane ran his hands over Mia’s bare back as he rolled her onto her back and covered her body with his.

Mia wrapped her arms around Jane’s neck and played with the curls at the nape of his neck.

Jane grabbed Mia’s leg and slung it over his hip as he tried to get impossibly closer to the mother of his unborn child.

Jane broke the kiss and leaned his head down to place a kiss on Mia’s stomach.

“Mommy and I are gonna be busy for a while little one,” Jane whispered against Mia’s stomach. “Just block your ears.”

Mia giggled at Jane’s remark as he linked their lips with a wide smile.

**xxxxx**

The next day, Sunday, was very relaxed as Jane and Mia spent most of the day in bed.

That evening Jane and Mia sat in the living room watching some TV while they waited for the pizza man to arrive.

“What are we gonna do when I have to go on maternity leave?” Mia asked as she lay with her head in Jane’s lap.

“What do you mean?” Jane asked with complete confusion.

“Well, no one knows about us,” Mia explained. “And the way we’re going, I guess it’s gonna stay that way.”

“Do you want to tell everyone?” Jane asked as he rubbed his hand along her shoulder.

“I don’t know,” Mia replied truthfully. “I guess it wouldn’t really make a difference at the moment, but we’ll have to tell everyone eventually.”

“Then why don’t we wait until the appropriate time comes.” Jane said as he slid his hand down to caress Mia’s stomach.

“What about Red John?” Mia asked with uncertainty. “What if he decides to show up again?”

“Well, number one, I have a gun,” Jane began as he looked with at Mia. “Number two, I will not let him know about us.”

“OK,” Mia replied quietly. “What are we watching anyway?”

“Hmm, that’s a good question my love.” Jane said with a smile as he reached for the remote on the table. “It’s called…”

But just as Jane was about to answer, a knock came at the door and a semi tired voice called Mia’s name.

Mia and Jane shared a look of confusion and Mia mouthed ‘Daniel’ to Jane who nodded in understanding.

Jane slowly made his way upstairs and Mia went to answer the door.

“Hey Daniel,” Mia said with a small smile and a quick glance at the staircase. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I just wanted to make sure that you were coming to work tomorrow and that everything was OK.” Daniel replied somewhat sheepishly.

“Uh, yeah, everything’s fine.” Mia replied. “My arm is getting better and I feel a lot less nauseous.”

“That’s good,” Daniel replied. “Um, do you mind if I come inside?”

“No, of course not,” Mia replied as she moved out of the doorway. “Come on in.”

Daniel walked into the semi-lit hallway and made his way through to the living room.

“Sorry for the mess,” Mia said with slight embarrassment as she hurriedly picked up a shirt that belonged to the man who was hiding upstairs. “I haven’t really felt like cleaning.”

“That’s OK,” Daniel replied as he took a seat in the armchair that sat across from the couch. “My place is a _**lot**_ worse.”

Mia and Daniel shared a comfortable moment of laughter at Daniel’s comment.

“So, did you do anything exciting this weekend?” Daniel asked to try and start conversation.

“Um, not really,” Mia replied as she sat on the couch with her legs underneath her. “Just basically rested and watched TV.”

“OK,” Daniel replied. “I did the same, although, I did go surfing the other day down in Malibu.”

“Oh,” Mia replied with interest. “I didn’t know you could surf.”

“Yeah,” Daniel replied with a small smile. “I lived in Los Angeles for a little, so I kinda had to learn to surf. But it is a lot of fun.”

The comfortable silence lapsed into one of slight awkwardness as neither Daniel nor Mia knew what to say.

“Well, I suppose I better get going.” Daniel began as he started to make his way to the door. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” Mia replied as she was enveloped in a hug.

Daniel pulled away with a slight smile and Mia closed the door behind him.

“Is he gone?” Jane asked from the staircase.

“Yeah, he’s gone,” Mia replied. “But I thought I told you to clean up down here.”

“You may have told me to,” Jane replied as he looped his arms around Mia’s waist. “But I guess I forgot.”

Just as Jane and Mia were about to lean in for a kiss, another knock came at the door and with a sigh Mia went to go and open it.

Turns out it was just the pizza man coming to deliver the cheese pizza that Jane and Mia had ordered to share.

“Grubbs’ up,” Mia said as she carried the box of pizza to the table.

“Yum,” Jane said as he hugged Mia from behind. “Time for dinner little one.”

“Well, I think we are both hungry,” Mia said as she put her hands on Jane’s as they rubbed up and down her stomach.

“Then let’s eat.” Jane said as he placed a kiss on Mia’s temple.

**xxxxx**

Monday was very uneventful as neither CBI nor Sac PD had any cases.

Unfortunately Sacramento was going through a heat wave, so being stuck in the office was not the ideal thing at the moment.

“I hate to say this,” Rigsby began as he unbuttoned the first button on his shirt. “But I hope someone gets killed today.”

“Rigsby!” Van Pelt said with some astonishment.

“What?” Rigsby replied innocently. “That’s the only way we’re really going to get out of the office.”

“How are you not sweating Jane?” Lisbon asked with astonishment as she leaned against Van Pelt’s desk. “It’s almost a hundred degrees and you’re wearing a three-piece suit.”

“It’s called bio-feedback Agent Lisbon.” Jane replied lazily. “I can control my body temperature if I think about it hard enough.”

“Psht, yeah right,” Lisbon snorted.

Just then Jane’s phone rang to let him know that he had received a text message.

_**I’m DYING! AC is out here at Sac PD…** _

The text came from Mia and Jane had to resist the urge to laugh as he could just imagine his drama queen dying of the heat.

_**Come to CBI… AC works fine here…** _

Jane sent back to Mia.

_**No thanks**_ came Mia’s reply. _**I’d rather go to the beach.**_

Jane lay and thought for a second as he wondered whether he should take the day off or not.

Just then a fax came through to Cho’s computer.

“It’s for you, boss,” Cho said as he handed the piece of paper to Lisbon.

The team waited in anticipation as Lisbon read what was on the slip of paper.

“Well, you all got lucky,” Lisbon said to her agents and consultant. “You can all leave early due to that heat wave.”

The choruses in the room were a mixture of sighs of relief and cheers of joy.

“I guess I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Jane said as he started making his way to the elevator.

_**Grab your swimsuit, we’re heading to Malibu.** _

Was Jane’s last text to Mia as he pressed the button for the elevator.

**xxxxx**

“How did you get Daniel to let you go early?” Jane asked as he and Mia carried their bags into Jane’s Malibu house that afternoon.

“I just asked,” Mia replied simply as she followed Jane to the door.

“Right, because you have him eating out of the palm of your hand.” Jane said with a cheeky grin.

“I do not!” Mia protested loudly as she wacked at Jane with her towel.

“Whatever,” Jane replied as he unlocked the door with ease. “Let’s change and then head down to the beach.”

“OK,” Mia said as she put her bag down on the floor. “Why did you guys get half day?”

“I don’t know,” Jane replied with a shrug. “Maybe the higher-ups want to go out on their expensive yachts and sip martinis.”

“Either way, I’m glad your day cut short.” Mia said as she hugged Jane from behind. “I still can’t believe you wore your three-piece to work today.”

“What can I say, I am a creature of habit my dear.” Jane said as he turned and put his arms around Mia’s waist.

“Well, I had to wear shorts,” Mia said as she ran a hand down the jean fabric of her short shorts. “And because I am a consultant, the dress code doesn’t really apply to me.”

“Well, right now I am starting to feel the heat, so let’s get changed and head down to the beach.” Jane said as he reluctantly released Mia and made his way towards the stairs.

“I can’t wait to swim.” Mia said with a sigh. “It’ll feel a lot better than living in an oven.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

 

Roughly two months after the first ultrasound and the odd conversation with Daniel, things were still going good for Jane and Mia. The baby was still perfectly healthy and Mia had even started showing a little.

“Wow,” Mia said as she stood in front of the mirror in her underwear one morning before work. “It’s getting pretty big.”

“Yep,” Jane said with a smile as he knelt down in front of Mia and kissed her belly. “Soon I’ll be able to roll you around.”  
Mia scoffed at Jane’s remark but gave him a warm smile anyway.

“I must say darling,” Jane began as he stood from his position on the floor. “Pregnancy is a good look on you.”

“It feels good too.” Mia said with an excited grin as she caressed her growing belly.

Jane cupped Mia’s cheek as he smiled and watched the happy sparkle in Mia’s eyes.

Jane leaned down and kissed Mia sweetly as he pulled her against him and hugged her close.

Jane ran his hand up Mia's back and was about to lift her up when his phone started ringing.

With a sigh Jane walked over to the bedside table and silenced his shrilling phone with a 'hello'.

“Patrick Jane,” He said in to the phone as he watched Mia ponder what to wear to hide her bump.

_**“Hey, Jane,”**_ Came Lisbon’s tired voice. _**“We have a new case with Sac PD.”**_

“Alright,” Jane said as he walked over to Mia and handed her a loose-fitting T-shirt that he thought would work. “I’ll give Mia a call and let her know we’ll have a chance to make more trouble.”

_**“If you even dare to cause more paperwork for me, I will seriously hurt you.”**_ Lisbon said angrily, but Jane could tell that there was a hint of a smile on her face.

“No need to threaten me with bodily harm, Lisbon.” Jane said as Mia smiled at him with a cheeky grin as she listened to his side of the conversation. “I’ll see if I can make Mia behave.”

_**“Somehow, it’s you that always makes more trouble.”**_ Lisbon said in reply. _**“Mia actually has more manners than you.”**_

“Hah,” Jane said with mock horror. “I beg to differ.”

_**“Either way, get your but to the crime scene. I’ll text you the address.”**_ Lisbon said before ending the call.

Jane threw his phone onto the bed as Mia was once again in front of the mirror. The difference being that she now had the shirt Jane had chosen.

“Can you see the bump?” Mia asked as Jane stood behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.

“Nope,” Jane replied simply. “I can’t see a thing.”

“Good,” Mia said as she put her dress pants on. “What did Lisbon say?”

“Apparently, she thinks you have more manners than I do.” Jane said with a cheeky grin.

“Really?” Mia asked incredulously.

“Yep,” Jane replied as he hugged Mia from behind while she tried to straighten her clothes. “Plus, we have a case.”

“Wonderful,” Mia replied sarcastically as she leaned back against Jane. “I really don’t feel like seeing a dead body.”

“You still nauseous?” Jane asked with concern.

“Oh yes,” Mia replied. “Remember that Dr. St. Claire said it should only start subsiding when I hit about three months.”

“Oh,” Jane replied simply. “Well, if you need me to cover your eyes or present a bag, let me know.”

Mia just glared at Jane, letting him know that she didn’t really appreciate his joke.

“I’m ready, so I’m gonna leave,” Mia said as she grabbed her bag and her phone. “I’ll see you later.”

Mia planted a quick kiss on Jane’s lips before making her way out of the bedroom.

“See you later my love,” Jane said happily.

**xxxxx**

The victim was thirty year old Victor Mansfield. His body was found in an alleyway not too far away from either Sac PD or CBI. In fact, the body was within walking distance of both buildings.

Mia arrived first, obviously, but Jane saw her standing by her car with a worried expression.

“What troubles you Miss Black?” Jane asked with a smile as he walked over to Mia.

“Patrick,” Mia said cautiously as she took his hand in hers. “There’s something you’re not going to like.”

“What is it?” Jane asked now with concern all over his face.

Mia didn’t say anything just simply led Jane under the crime scene tape and towards the body that was slumped against a nearby dumpster.

At first Jane couldn’t see what the problem was other than the fact that the young man had been shot three times in the chest.

Then Jane saw it… a small tattoo on the man’s neck that was a symbol he’d seen too many times before… It was the Red John smiley, perfectly inked into the skin of the dead man.

Jane jumped back with horror on his face when he saw the image of his nightmares.

Mia had small tears in her eyes as she watched Jane’s reaction.

“I’m sorry,” Mia whispered as she excused herself to go and sit in her car.

Once Jane had taken a few deep breaths to calm himself he decided to go and talk to Mia.

Jane found Mia sitting in the backseat of her car, curled up in a ball and crying.

Jane got into the backseat of the car and immediately pulled Mia into his chest.

Mia continued crying for a while and a few of Jane’s tears joined in the mix.

Eventually Mia pulled away from Jane and wiped at her eyes.

“Why were you crying beautiful?” Jane asked as he took Mia’s hand in his.

“Why was I crying?” Mia asked sarcastically as if the answer was the simplest thing on the earth. “I was crying because _**he**_ obviously had something to do with this. I knew we couldn’t keep us a secret from him. He probably knows everything.”

“We don’t know that for sure, maybe it’s just a coincidence.” Jane tried to reassure Mia.

“Oh please,” Mia said with a humorless chuckle. “You believe in coincidences less than I do.”

“Well, maybe Victor was one of Red John’s minions.” Jane said as he tried to piece things together.

“Yeah, and he was probably spying on us for Red John.” Mia said angrily. “Don’t you think it’s weird that he was murdered so close to CBI and Sac PD?”

“Of course I do,” Jane said with his voice rising in anger. “I’m just trying to figure things out, while trying not to lose the best thing I’ve ever had.”

Maybe it was the haywire hormones due to Mia being pregnant, or maybe it was just the impact of Jane’s words. Either way, Mia suddenly burst into tears and threw her arms around Jane.

Jane held on tight as tears streamed down his cheeks as well.

Mia pulled back and said, “Don’t worry; I think we’ll be fine. I’m sorry I overreacted. I’m just scared.”

“I know,” Jane replied as he wiped the tears off of Mia’s cheek with his calloused thumb. “I’m scared too, but we’ll make it through this.”

They lapsed into a somewhat comfortable silence as they just looked into each other’s eyes.

“Um… Patrick,” Mia began hesitantly. “I know… I’ve never said this to you before… but… I… I love you.”

Jane’s heart swelled as his smile matched the one on Mia’s face.

“I love you too Mia,” Jane replied as he ran his hand down her cheek. “I love our little baby too and I’m going to do **EVERYTHING** I can to make sure that my two favorite people are safe.”

Mia kissed Jane sweetly as his words touched her so deeply.

When Mia pulled away, she looked at Jane with a smile and reluctantly said, “Well, we have a case to solve.”

“And we will,” Jane replied. “In record timing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

 

Unfortunately, Jane wasn't right this time. Three hours later and everyone was still trying to figure out what connection Victor had to Red John... Or anybody.

"This guy really didn't have a life." Mia said lamely as she lay back on the old leather couch in the bullpen.

"Indeed," Jane agreed as he placed Mia's feet in his lap and settled back against the warm leather.

The bull pen was filled to the brim with people. Some of the main occupants were Daniel and Lisbon's teams and the guys from vice who were having their air conditioning fixed.

Needless to say, it was a tight squeeze…

“It’s like this guy lived at his house, went to the grocery store once a week _**always**_ on the same day, and took his laundry to be dry cleaned every Saturday.” Mia said with frustration clear in her voice. “That’s it.”

“Maybe he didn’t work for Red John,” Van Pelt supplied, although she knew it probably wasn’t possible. “Maybe he heard about in the paper or on the news and thought it would be cool to get a tattoo of the calling card.”

“That’s very unlikely, Grace,” Jane said from the couch. “But if it were true, how do you explain him being killed so close to CBI and Sac PD?”

“I know,” Grace mumbled. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe we should go out and about and see if we can talk to any relatives or friends this guy had.” Rigsby offered from his desk he was sharing David Flood.

“That won’t work,” Mia said. “He doesn’t have any living relatives or known connections to _**anyone in the entire world**_.”

Jane could tell that this case was annoying everyone, but Mia in particular.

_**Probably the mood swings.**_ Jane thought to himself. _**Maybe we all need a distraction.**_

“Why don’t Mia and I go and grab some lunch for everyone?” Jane offered and heard the agreeable hum from all of the agents and detectives in the room.

Except for the Vice team of course… none of them trusted Jane at all.

So Jane took everyone’s orders, helped Mia off of the couch, and made his way to the elevator with his irritated lover.

Jane pulled out of the CBI parking lot in his trusty Citroen and drove down the sunny road toward the Chinese restaurant just around the corner.

Jane casually glanced to his right and watched as Mia rested her head against the window and drew patterns with her fingers.

“Are you playing piano?” Jane asked curiously with a small smile.

“Hmm,” Mia said as she woke from her daydream. “Oh, yeah, I learned to play in high school.”

“Ah, maybe we should get a real piano for you my love.” Jane said as he tried to cheer Mia up.

“Nah, I don’t need one,” Mia replied. “It’s too much hassle to keep it clean and tune it every year or so.”

Jane gave a small chuckle as he stopped at the red light.

Jane reached over to Mia to run his hand over her leg.

“Patrick, look out!” Mia shouted as a car in front started speeding directly towards them.

The two cars collided with the crunching of metal and hooting of horns.

Finally the air cleared and Jane slowly lifted his head to see what the damage was.

The other car had stopped and people had stopped their cars to see what was going on.

Suddenly a trickle of fear climbed up Jane’s back as he tried to see if Mia was hurt.

“Mia?” Jane asked into the silent car. “Sweetheart, are you OK?”

The only reply was silence.

“Mia?” Jane said again as he reached out and felt Mia’s limp arm. “Mia, are you OK?”

Mia moaned in pain as Jane shook her arm slowly.

“Pa… Patrick?” Mia said as she tried to lift her head off of the seat.

“Mia, honey, are you OK?” Jane asked as he undid his seatbelt and sat up to try and see if Mia was hurt.

“My head hurts,” Mia mumbled as she rubbed at her eyes.

“OK, don’t move too much,” Jane said as he reached for his cell phone in his pocket. “I’ll call for an ambulance.”

Once Jane had made the emergency phone call, he got out of the car to see if the other guy was still alive.

Unfortunately, the other man in the SUV was dead, so they wouldn’t even know why this guy had deliberately rammed into them.

Jane walked to Mia’s side of the car and opened the door slowly.

“Mia, it’s OK,” Jane said as he took her hand in his. “I’m here.”

Jane looked Mia up and down and began his assessment. Mia had a large cut on her forehead and some little scratches on her arm from the glass of the windscreen. Other than that everything looked fine. Jane was just worried about shock and what it would do to the baby.

“OK Mia,” Jane began as he ran a hand over Mia’s face. “I need you to stay as calm as possible so that you don’t go into shock.”

“OK,” Mia mumbled as she looked into Jane’s blue eyes.

“I’m gonna try and put you into a light trance to keep you calm.” Jane began as he made his voice as soothing as possible.

Mia nodded her head slowly as she listened to Jane’s voice.

“Just listen to my voice and focus on breathing in and out,” Jane said. “Nice and slowly just breathe in and out.”

Mia did as she was told and Jane felt her pulse slow to a steady beat.

While Jane was keeping Mia calm, the ambulance had arrived and officers from Sac PD were clearing pedestrians away from the accident.

The paramedics helped Mia get out of the car and rolled her to the ambulance on a gurney.

“Don’t worry Mia,” Jane said soothingly as he climbed into the ambulance with Mia. “I’m right here.”

“Patrick?” Mia said as he held onto her hand. “Is the baby going to be OK?”

“Yes, the baby will be fine as long as you stay calm and let the doctors do their job.” Jane replied reassuringly.

“Good,” Mia said with a small smile. “Where’s Daniel?”

“I don’t know,” Jane replied. “I didn’t call him.”

“Oh, OK,” Mia said with a sigh. “Maybe it’s better that way. He would probably freak out.”

“Yeah, he probably would.” Jane said with a small smile.

The ride to the hospital was fairly quick and noisy as Jane had to explain what had happened and let the paramedics know that Mia was pregnant.

After Mia had been checked over and left in a room to calm down a little, Jane had been forced to get the cut on his head checked up.

“I’m fine doctor,” Jane insisted as the doctor, Susan Lee, flashed a small flashlight over both of his eyes.

“I can see that Mr Jane, but I still need to make sure that your sight and hearing are fine.” Dr. Lee said with a small smile.

“Are they fine?” Jane asked as Dr. Lee put all of her equipment away. “Can I go now?”

“Yes Mr Jane,” Dr. Lee replied. “You can go, but I suggest you and Miss Black take it easy.”

“Trust me,” Jane said as he hopped off of the bed and put his suit coat on. “We will.”

“Good,” Dr. Lee said as she handed Jane the discharge papers for him and Mia. “Hopefully I won’t see you here for a while.”

“Hopefully not,” Jane replied with a smile, understanding the meaning behind the doctor’s words. “Thank you Dr. Lee.”

Jane made his way out of the examination room and down the hall to the room where Mia was patiently waiting for him.

“Hello beautiful,” Jane said with a warm smile as he saw Mia jump off of the bed and start making her way towards him. “Are you alright?”

“I’m a lot better.” Mia said as she hugged Jane. “My phone has just been ringing non-stop with calls from Daniel.”

“Did you answer?” Jane asked as he pulled away from Mia.

“Of course not,” Mia replied. “I don’t know what to tell him. Besides, anything I say is just going to make him worry even more.”

“Well, you’ll have to face his fury when we get back to CBI.” Jane said as he intertwined their fingers and started making his way towards the front desk. “I called Lisbon and she has Van Pelt checking the street cameras to see what she can find out.”

Mia nodded and rested her head against Jane’s shoulder as he handed the discharge papers to the receptionist.

Once Jane and Mia had been discharged and wished a nice day, the headed outside to wait for Lisbon or Cho’s black SUV to pick them up.

“Sorry about your car, Patrick,” Mia said as she suddenly remembered that they had been driving his car. “Do you think they can fix it?”

“Meh, I’m sure they can.” Jane said with a carefree wave of the hand. “Besides, we still have your car.”

Mia nodded as they lapsed into a comfortable silence.

Jane was watching a bird hop along the ground when suddenly Mia spoke up.

“Do you think the guy that rammed into us was working for Red John?” Mia asked with slight worry as she turned to Jane. “Do you think he was trying to kill us?”

“I don’t know my love,” Jane said with a sigh as he pulled Mia against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. “I really don’t know.”

After a while, Mia pulled away and Jane saw Lisbon’s car pull up in front of them.

He’d really been hoping for Cho though.

“Get in,” Lisbon said through the passenger window and Jane helped Mia get into the front seat before getting in the back.

“Are you guys OK?” Lisbon asked the two consultants before driving out of the hospital parking lot.

“Yes, Lisbon,” Jane replied with a small smile. “We are both fine.”

“Good,” Lisbon said as she looked at Jane through the rearview mirror. “The tow truck that carried your car away said that they might be able to fix it.”

“Well, isn’t that good news?” Jane said as he tapped on Mia’s shoulder with a smile.

“I’m surprised they didn’t just write it off.” Lisbon said as she saw the interesting interaction between Jane and Mia.

“That car is a classic,” Jane began. “No idiot would ‘write it off’.”

Mia smiled and giggled at Jane’s remark, causing Jane to smile in return.

“Anyway,” Jane said as he struggled to drag his eyes away from Mia’s. “What did you guys find out regarding our reckless driver friend?”

“Not much,” Lisbon said with a sigh. “He seems to be just like Victor. No family, no friends, and no life.”

“Huh,” Jane said as he leaned back in his seat.

“But we’re doing everything we can to figure out why this guy tried to kill you two.” Lisbon said in what she thought was a reassuring voice.

“Do you guys have any idea why he might want to kill you?” Lisbon asked, turning to face both consultants.

“No,” Jane and Mia both replied in unison, causing Lisbon to give them an odd look.

“OK… Well, if you guys think of anything let us know.” Lisbon said as she watched Jane suspiciously.

“Will do Lisbon,” Jane said with a nod of his head. “Could we stop to get something to eat? We kinda skipped lunch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

 

After Lisbon had begrudgingly stopped somewhere to get lunch for everyone, all three of them headed back to CBI with takeout in hand.

Jane placed the Chinese takeout containers in the kitchenette and started to prepare tea for Mia and himself.

When Jane got back to the bullpen, he saw Mia curled up on his couch, sleeping so peacefully.

Jane didn’t want to wake her, so he placed both cups of tea on his desk and grabbed the blanket that was sitting on the backrest of his couch and threw it over Mia’s sleeping form.

Jane leaned down and kissed Mia’s neck gently, not caring if anyone in the bullpen saw him.

Once Mia was covered, Jane sat at his desk and slowly sipped his tea, wondering if Red John was trying to send him a message.

“Hey, Jane?” Van Pelt said from her desk, disturbing Jane’s thoughts.

“Yes Grace?” Jane said as he turned to the redhead.

“Do you think Red John had something to do with the guy who smashed into you and Mia?” Van Pelt asked with some concern in her eyes.

“I don’t know Grace,” Jane replied as he sipped his tea. “I really don’t know.”

Van Pelt could tell that Jane wanted to think in silence, so she dropped the questioning and carried on with her work.

“Um, Jane? Sorry to bother again,” Van Pelt said as she turned to the blond once more. “Could you take a look at this?”

“What is it?” Jane asked with a sigh as he stood from his seat.

“It’s footage from the street cameras where you and Mia had the accident.” Van Pelt replied. “There’s the car that hit you going at normal speed, but then he suddenly speeds up and charges straight at you guys.”

“I remember that part.” Jane said jokingly.

“Right,” Van Pelt replied with some embarrassment. “But what I noticed was that this guy on the side walk pulls out a phone, makes a quick call and as soon as the other guy hit you, he walks away.”

“Hmm…” Jane hummed with a thousand thoughts going through his head. “Can you biggify it and see the caller’s face?”

“Sorry,” Van Pelt replied while trying to keep herself from laughing at Jane’s words. “He wasn’t facing towards the street cam.”

“Because he knew where it was.” Jane said with a sigh as sat down heavily at his desk. “Thanks for trying Grace.”

“No problem,” Van Pelt replied as she apologetically turned back to her computer screen.

Jane stood from his seat at his desk and took his and Mia’s teacups to the kitchenette.

Once Jane had rinsed out both cups, he made his way back to the bullpen and sat on his couch with Mia’s head in his lap.

Jane slowly ran his hands through Mia’s hair as he tried to piece everything together.

What was Victor’s connection to Red John? Was the man who had driven into them, Carlos Rosa, also connected to Victor and Red John, or was he working for someone else? After all, Jane had angered many people in his time with the CBI.

Eventually the bullpen started clearing up and it was only Jane, Mia, and Lisbon left on the floor of the CSU.

Jane was humming softly to himself as Mia slowly opened her eyes and tried to remember where she was.

“Patrick?” Mia said, her voice groggy with sleep.

 “Yes beautiful?” Jane said as Mia turned to look up at him.

“What time is it?” Mia asked as she slowly sat up and stretched out her stiff muscles.

“Um, it’s eight thirty,” Jane said as he looked at the little clock that sat on the table next to his couch.

“Oh,” Mia replied as he pulled her feet underneath her and snuggled into Jane’s side. “It’s been a long day.”

“That it has my love,” Jane agreed as he put his arm around Mia and placed a kiss to her temple. “That it has.”

“Did anything important happen while I was asleep?” Mia asked softly as she struggled to stay awake.

“Not really,” Jane replied as he pulled the blanket around the both of them. “All you missed was Daniel coming to see if you were OK.”

“Did he yell at you?” Mia asked.

“Not really,” Jane said. “He was more worried about you than me.”

“Huh,” Mia said simply. “Guess I should have seen that coming.”

Jane chuckled as he felt Mia relax in his arms and nuzzle his neck with her warm nose.

“What do you say about going home, order takeout and having a nice, relaxing bath?” Jane asked Mia as he twirled a piece of her hair in his fingers.

“OK,” Mia replied as she started to lightly peck Jane’s neck. “As long as I get to pick the takeout.”

“Your wish is my command.” Jane said with a smile as he turned his head and pecked Mia lightly.

**xxxxx**

Jane and Mia arrived home in Mia’s car after Lisbon gave them a ride to Sac PD to retrieve the black BMW.

As Jane and Mia were about to walk through the front door, a note attached on the front caught their eyes.

Jane pulled the note off of the door and he and Mia read what was typed on the small slip of paper.

 

_**Prepare, prepare the iron helm of war,** _

_**Bring forth the lots, cast in the spacious orb;** _

_**Th’ Angel of Fate turns them with mighty hands,** _

_**And casts them out upon the darken’d earth** _

_**Prepare, prepare!** _

****

_**I will see you soon Patrick and Mia,** _

_**Enjoy the little break while it lasts.** _

_**RJ** _

****

Jane and Mia shared a look of shock and worry as they finished reading the note at the same time.

“He’s giving us a break?” Was all Jane could utter in a silent voice. “This gives us time to prepare for his attack.”

“Patrick,” Mia said wearily with tears in her eyes. “What are we gonna do? I’m tired of this monster dictating our lives.”

“Don’t worry,” Jane said as he pulled Mia into his chest. “I’ll get resources to monitor us and the house. We will be safe… all of us.”

As Jane said this, he placed his hands on Mia’s semi-swollen stomach.

“I promise.”

**xxxxx**

The next day Jane was up early and at CBI in record timing.

He waited in Lisbon’s office with a steaming cup of coffee as he thought about how he was going to start the conversation.

Lisbon had a look of surprise on her face as she saw Jane on her couch with a bribe.

“What did you do this time?” Lisbon asked, motioning towards to coffee.

“Well good morning to you too,” Jane muttered. “Can’t I just bring my boss a nice cup of coffee prepared just the way she likes it?”

Lisbon gave Jane a look that said ‘I know you're talking sheep dip, so get to the point’.

Jane hesitated before admitting that Lisbon wasn’t going to just accept the coffee.

“Fine,” Jane said with an exaggerated sigh as he handed Lisbon the coffee. “You got me.”

Lisbon sat at her desk and took a long sip of the rich coffee Jane had made for her.

“What did you do?” Lisbon said as she started unpacking her bag. “Who do I need to plead with to let you off the hook?”

“It’s not what I did,” Jane said as he sat in the chair in front of Lisbon’s desk. “It’s what I need.”

“Well, what do you need?” Lisbon asked with slight confusion.

“I need cameras, microphones, those fancy ear pieces, and tracking devices for cars and clothing.” Jane said easily, listing his needs.

“What do you need all of that for?” Lisbon spluttered as she took in Jane’s demands.

“I need it for surveillance and protection.” Jane replied with seriousness in his voice.

“Protection from whom?” Lisbon asked calmly, trying to hide her concern.

“Red John,” Jane replied simply. “I believe he is connected to all of the exciting things that have been happening lately.”

“Besides obvious reasons, why are you so sure he is running all of this?” Lisbon asked now giving Jane her full attention.

“Let’s just say that Red John has declared war against me and Mia.” Jane said as he showed Lisbon the Blake poem that he and Mia had found taped to the front door the night before. “It’s a poem by William Blake called ‘A War Song to Englishman’.”

“When did you get this?” Lisbon asked as she studied the paper.

“Last night,” Jane replied, hoping Lisbon wouldn’t ask where he had gotten the poem.

“I’ll try and get everything you asked for, but I don’t like that fact that you are trying to handle this on your own.” Lisbon said as she gave the piece of paper back to Jane.

“Don’t worry Lisbon,” Jane said as he stood from his seat. “I’ll come to you first if I need help.”

Jane made his way to the door of Lisbon’s office and was about to leave when he turned to Lisbon and said, “Thank you Teresa.” with every piece of sincerity he could exude.

Lisbon simply nodded her head in acknowledgement of Jane’s words.

Lisbon took hold of the cross on her neck and silently whispered to herself, “Please keep him and Mia safe. I don’t want to lose any more friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

 

The surveillance gear was all set up, even though Mia didn’t like that her privacy had gone out the window, and all was going well.

It seems that Red John really was giving them a break, as the couple hadn’t heard a single word from or about the serial killer.

Needless to say, the cases involving Victor and Carlos had been labeled as unsolved as they couldn’t find any connections to Red John or anyone else.

Jane had been stern and cautious as soon as the surveillance equipment was up, but as week by week flew by, Jane found himself relaxing and wondering if Red John had been serious about his threat.

Mia had also started to get used to the cameras and tracking devices and had succumbed to the excitement as the baby grew bigger and bigger inside of her tummy.

“Patrick,” Mia called from her room as she stood in front of the mirror with a furrowed brow. “Could you come here for a second?”

“What’s up gorgeous?” Jane asked as he walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist.

“I think I have to go on maternity leave.” Mia said with slight disappointment in her voice.

“What makes you say that?” Jane asked as he stood next to Mia and watched as she tried to button her shirt.

“Well, my clothes don’t fit.” Mia said with hands on hips. “Plus, there is no way I can hide this anymore.”

“Hmm…” Jane tilted his head to the left, then to the right. “Maybe if you just… nah… You could… nope… I guess you should call Daniel and tell him you are going on vacation.”

“Wait, I can’t just call and take leave,” Mia said as she followed Jane to the wardrobe. “I have to give at least a week’s notice.”

“Then maybe you should wear one of my shirts.” Jane said with a simple shrug of the shoulders.

“Yeah, that won’t give us away at all.” Mia said sarcastically.

Jane tsked as he put his hands on Mia’s belly. He smiled as he whispered into her neck, “I see the mood swings are a little more obvious as well.”

Mia rolled her eyes with a sigh as she melted against Jane slightly.

“Maybe you should just tell Daniel the truth.” Jane said as he held Mia in his arms.

“I don’t know if I can.” Mia said quietly as she took a long sniff of Jane’s deodorant and cologne.

“Then just tell him that you want to take leave,” Jane said as he pulled away to look into Mia’s eyes. “I’m sure he’ll understand if you tell him you need a break from work.”

“OK,” Mia replied with a small smile. “I’ll just call him, because if I go into the office, he’ll definitely know I’m pregnant.”

“It’s not that noticeable,” Jane said as he watched Mia walk towards the bathroom.

“I’m eleven weeks pregnant Patrick,” Mia said as she turned to him. “It’s pretty noticeable.”

**xxxxx**

 Jane lay on his couch after kissing Mia goodbye and driving to CBI in his now fixed Citroen.

Time surely had flown since he and Mia had met.

He could still remember the day she jumped out of the tree above his head and had introduced herself.

Jane lay and wondered when exactly things had changed between him and Mia, causing him to give into a relationship with her that seemed to be going extremely well.

With a smile on his face, Jane dreamt of days spent playing with his new baby and maybe adding another to the mix.

He wondered if that weekend of painting in Malibu had been when this baby was conceived.

Who knew…?

Either way, Jane noted that life was going well.

Maybe he should take some cake to Mia during his lunch break to try and soothe her moods.

No cases had popped up and Jane was very grateful as he just listened to the hustle and bustle of the bullpen.

Before anybody knew it, it was time to go home and enjoy a quiet evening.

Jane stopped by the store on his way home and picked up some bubbly, non-alcoholic drinks and a nice chocolate cake that he knew Mia would appreciate.

“Honey, I’m home.” Jane said comically as he walked through the door.

“Hey,” Mia said from somewhere upstairs. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

Jane put the drinks in the fridge and the cake on the counter and decided not to wait for Mia to come downstairs.

Jane noticed that the light in the spare bedroom was on and that there were quite a few boxes in the hallway.

“Is this _**Extreme Home Makeover**_ or something?” Jane asked as he walked into to the room.

“Patrick!” Mia said as she spotted the blonde man. “You weren’t supposed to come in!”

Jane looked around the room and noticed that Mia had started painting the walls in a color that she thought would be neutral no matter what the gender of the baby would be.

“Wow,” Jane said as he felt a small lump in his throat. “You sure have been busy.”

“I thought that I should start cleaning up this room so that it would be ready for when the baby was born.” Mia said as she stood back to look at her work. “Do you like it?”

“I…” Jane began, but couldn’t find the words to say.

Instead Jane pulled Mia into his arms and kissed her passionately, letting all of his emotion come through in the simple touch of his lips.

When Jane pulled away, he cupped Mia’s cheek and whispered sweetly, “It’s beautiful.”

Mia smiled at Jane’s words and threw her arms around his waist as she let the tiredness finally creep into her bones and muscles.

“Good, because I’m exhausted!” Mia said as she hid her face in the crook of Jane’s neck.

“Well, then I guess I’ll just have to put the cake away.” Jane said, knowing that Mia wouldn’t say no to a slice of cake.

“Cake?” Mia said as her head suddenly shot up in mild excitement. “What kind?”

“Chocolate of course.” Jane replied simply. “Would you like a slice?”

“Heck yes,” Mia replied as she started hurriedly making her way towards the kitchen.

“Ah, some things never change.” Jane said with a smile as he took one last glance around the room and smiled his way down the stairs.

**xxxxx**

 As the days went by, Jane found himself removing the tracking devices and ear pieces from his arsenal.

After all, it had been almost a month since Red John’s threat and nothing had happened to him and Mia yet.

“Are you sure you have ALL of the tracking devices?” Mia said as she rested a hand on her belly and watched Jane put the little pieces of technology back in the case they had come in.

“Yes dear,” Jane said with a sigh. “That’s all of them.”

“Can I take the software off of my laptop now?” Mia asked.

“Yes,” Jane replied with a smile. “Yes you can.”

“Thank you,” Mia said as she pecked Jane lightly.

“You’re very welcome.” Jane said as he followed behind Mia.

“Do you think Red John meant what he implied with the poem?” Mia asked as she settled on the couch with a bowl of popcorn.

“I guess we can’t know for sure.” Jane said as he put his arm around Mia and silently watched whatever she wanted to watch.

“Love you,” Mia said softly as she cuddled up next to Jane and placed his hand on her belly.

“Love you too.” Jane said with a small sigh of content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

 

Friday came along with a case for the CBI that meant Jane and the team had to go to Los Angeles.

“Do you really have to go?” Mia asked as she lay watching Jane pack a small suitcase.

“Yes, I do,” Jane said with a small smile as he looked at Mia, only wrapped in the bed sheets. “You could always come with, you know.”

Mia seemed to mull it over as Jane walked over to the closet and grabbed a few things he would need.

“What will your team say?” Mia asked as she knew nobody knew about her and Jane yet. “They’ll definitely know about us then.”

“They don’t have to know you’re coming with.” Jane said with a shrug. “I’ll be driving down on my own, unpacking at the hotel, and then will I head over to the crime scene to meet with the others.”

“I guess it could be kinda romantic.” Mia admitted with a small smile.

“I’ll try and solve the case as quickly as possible,” Jane said as he shut his suitcase and put it on the floor. “Then, maybe we can have a lovely weekend in a wonderful hotel.

Jane sat on the bed next to Mia and leaned down to kiss her sweetly, trying his best to convince her that a weekend in LA would be nice.

“Fine,” Mia said after Jane had pulled away. “I suppose I could accompany you to Los Angeles.”

“Thank you,” Jane said as he stood and got down a separate suitcase for Mia to use. “But I suggest you start getting ready, I have to leave soon.”

Mia quickly got up from the bed and made her way to the bathroom to have a much needed shower, while Jane started looking through her clothing.

“I’m surprised you trust me to pick clothes for you Mia,” Jane said as he heard the water start running in the bathroom.

“Well, I know you won’t pick anything silly or inappropriate, because you know I have many plans for payback.” Mia said from the bathroom.

“That is true my dear,” Jane said as he took some things and put them in the suitcase. “That is too true.”

**xxxxx**

The drive was fairly long, but it was worth it as Jane and Mia checked into the hotel and looked at their lovely room.

“This is nicer than I thought it would be.” Jane said as he put the two suitcases on the floor. “Very roomy too.”

“With a nice view of the ocean.” Mia said with a sigh as she looked out of the window.

“That too,” Jane said as he came up behind Mia and pulled her against his chest while rubbing his hands up and down her swollen belly.

“I guess you better get going,” Mia said as she turned in Jane’s arms and put her arms around his neck. “I don’t think you’re team will be very happy if you’re late.”

“Meh, they’ll expect it from me.” Jane said as he leaned his forehead against Mia’s.

“Well, maybe you should surprise them then.” Mia said with a small smile as he knew that Jane probably wasn’t listening to her.

“Maybe next time,” Jane said slowly as he pressed his lips against Mia’s with a feather light touch.

Mia let out a small moan as Jane increased the pressure a little. She threaded her fingers through his hair as Jane pulled her closer and felt her rounded bally pressing against his muscular one.

Mia deepened the kiss as she felt Jane rest one of his hands on their unborn child.

Slowly Mia realized that Jane was leading them to the double bed that lay in the middle of the floor.

With a smile Mia felt her knees hit the side of the bed and she slowly lay down as Jane covered her body with his.

“You need to go,” Mia mumbled against Jane’s lips unconvincingly.

“In a minute,” Jane said as he switched to Mia’s neck, placing sweet kisses along her soft skin.

Jane pulled Mia’s leg around his hip as he returned to her lips.

Unfortunately, they were interrupted by Jane’s ringing cell phone.

“I told you you should go.” Mia said with a knowing smile as Jane reached for his phone.

“Yes dear,” Jane said as he stood. “But you enjoyed it, admit it.”

Mia just smiled to herself as Jane answered the phone.

After a few ‘Yes Lisbon’s and some ‘I understand’s Jane hung up and looked to Mia with an apologetic look, meaning that he really did have to go.

Jane went over to Mia and gave her one last lingering kiss before saying goodbye and walking out the door, leaving Mia to explore the hotel room.

**xxxxx**

“It’s about time you got here.” Lisbon said as Jane walked over to their group. “What took you so long?”

“Oh, I got lost trying to find the hotel.” Jane lied easily. “But never fear, I finally made it here.”

“Good,” Lisbon said a little sarcastically. “The local authorities say it was a man in his sixties. Some cyclists found the body this morning.”

“How did he die?” Jane asked as they all started walking towards where he assumed the body was lying.

“Blunt force trauma.” Cho said as they all gathered around the body.

“Do we know what the murder weapon was?” Jane asked as he knelt down next to the body.

“Nope, but I think it was probably something like a baseball bat.” Rigsby said.

“I guess we’ll know once the coroner gets here.” Grace said as she crossed her arms in front of herself.

“Hmm…” Jane hummed as he started to sniff the body. “He was with a woman last night, probably someone in her twenties judging by the strawberry-like fragrance.”

“You just assume that older woman don’t wear strawberry-like perfume?” Lisbon said with disbelief.

“Nah,” Jane replied. “Older woman tend to go for citrusy smells. It just appeals to their advanced noses.”

“Advanced noses…” Lisbon scoffed under her breath.

Just then one of the LAPD detectives came over to introduce himself, but he faltered slightly as he watched Jane sniffing the body again.

“Um, hi, I’m Detective Green.” The detective said as he shook Lisbon’s hand.

“I’m Agent Lisbon and these are Agents Van Pelt, Rigsby, and Cho.” Lisbon said as she introduced her team. “Oh, and our consultant Patrick Jane.”

“Does he usually do that?” Detective Green asked hesitantly.

“Pretty much,” Lisbon replied a little awkwardly. “Jane, could you please stand up and greet Detective Green?”

“Of course,” Jane said as he stood and dusted his hands off on his pants. “Patrick Jane, nice to meet you.”

Jane shook the young detective’s hand and noticed that he seemed a little weary around Jane.

_**Must be a rookie.**_ Jane said to himself.

“Do we have any witnesses?” Lisbon asked Detective Green.

“No,” Detective Green replied. “We only know what the cyclists have told us.”

“Alright, let’s get his personal records and see what we can find out about this guy.” Lisbon said with a sigh.

“We have some equipment set up for you and your team to use while you’re working this case.” Detective Green said as he led them toward a building that looked fairly well used.

“Thanks Detective, but we also brought some equipment of our own.” Lisbon said as they entered the building and Lisbon showed her team to start setting up.

“Of course Agent Lisbon, feel free to set up anywhere you like.” Detective Green said with a little bit of nervousness in his voice.

“Thank you,” Lisbon said with a small smile. “Alright guys, dig up _**everything**_ on this guy.”

“Yes boss!” Came the chorus of replies from the other three agents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

 

 Two hours into the case and Lisbon's team had managed to find out quite a bit on their victim.

Their victim's name was Harry Garcia, a local grocery store owner who lived in Downtown Los Angeles.

"He had a wife, but she died almost forty years ago." Grace said as she read the facts off of her computer. "He doesn't have any children or any other family members that are still alive."

"That's not true." Jane said as he browsed the boxes of tea that Detective Green had provided for him with confusion.

"What's not true?" Lisbon asked with a sigh a she turned in her chair next to Grace.

"He does have a child," Jane began as he finally picked up a tea bag. "A daughter whose probably in her twenties."

"How do you know that?" Cho asked with his usual dead-pan face.

"Well, he smelt like strawberries, probably the scent of a woman in her twenties, and he doesn't seem like the type of guy to sleep with a girl half his age." Jane replied easily as he poured the boiled water into his paper cup.

"How can you tell whether a guy dates younger girls or not just by looking at him?" Rigsby asked with slight disbelief.

"I don't just look at him, I look at his family and the history." Jane said simply as he turned to the questioning group. "His wife died fairly early in their marriage, so he probably still mourns a little and they probably wanted kids, but had a few miscarriages. I'm guessing that he didn't know his daughter. After his wife died, he probably felt very sorry for himself and took to drink. His daughter was probably conceived through a one night stand."

The group sat in silence as they tried to decide whether to believe Jane's answer or not.

Suddenly Jane's phone started ringing and he answered it, excusing himself almost immediaty.

As Jane stood in the stair well, he smiled and greeted the person on the other side of the phone.

"Hello my gorgeous Mia," Jane said as he leaned against the wall. "What can I do for you?"

"I... This... Probably sounds weird, but I just wanted to hear your voice." Mia replied and Jane could tell that she was probably blushing a beautiful red on the other side of the phone. "It's stupid, right?"

"Not at all." Jane replied softly. "I wanted to hear your voice too."

"You're just saying that." Mia said teasingly.

"That's not true," Jane replied. "I mean every word."

After a brief silence, Mia spoke up again.

"How's the case going?"

"Meh," Jane replied with a sigh. "A man in his sixties was killed. I think he has a daughter and that she was with him last night. But I think he didn't know that the girl was his daughter, because his records show that he doesn't have any children."

"Hmm..." Mia hummed to herself.

"What is on your mind my love?" Jane asked as he checked around to make sure no one was listening.

"Not much," Mia replied. "Could you come get me in your lunch break? I'm getting bored."

"Sure thing," Jane said as he stood upright. "Do you want me to drop you somewhere or something? Cause I can't bring you back here with me. You see, it might give us away."

"Um... Could you maybe drop me off at the beach?" Mia asked.

"Of course." Jane replied with a smile. "I'll see you later."

"Love you," Mia said and after a brief pause of silence, Jane replied.

"Love you too."

**xxxxx**

Jane managed to sneak away at lunch time to go to the hotel and pick Mia up.

"Knock, knock," Jane said as he walked into the motel room.

"I'm in the bedroom." He heard Mia's reply. "And I could use some help."

Jane made his way to the bedroom with slight confusion.

He found Mia standing in front of a full length mirror, struggling with her bikini top.

"Hmm... I don't think I've seen you in a bikini before." Jane said as he stood and watched Mia battle with string around her neck.

"Well now you have," Mia said a little breathlessly as she dropped one tired arm and turned to Jane. "You also know why I don't wear them."

Jane chuckled a little as he walked over to Mia and took the little strings out of her hand.

Jane tied them with an expert bow, but barely used any pressure as he did so. As his fingers lightly caressed Mia's neck, Jane could see goosebumps forming on her arms.

"There you go beautiful," Jane said as he ran his hands down Mia's arms and around to her belly.

"Thank you," Mia said with a greatful sigh as she leaned back in the blond man's embrace.

The two stood in front of the mirror just watching each other when Mia suddenly started giggling to herself.

"Und jetzt?" Jane asked in perfect German.

"Nothing," Mia replied. "It's just funny that I've always gone for tall, dark and handsome and now I'm probably going to have a tiny blond baby."

Jane smiled as he kissed Mia's temple.

"Well, I've always prefered blonds myself." Jane said. "I don't think I've dated any redheads before you."

"What about Kristina Frye?" Mia asked as she turned to look at Jane. "Didn't you tell me about her at one stage?"

"Meh, she didn't count." Jane replied simply. "It was never really a proper date."

"Mhmm..." Mia hummed with a little doubt.

"But that doesn't matter because I have you now." Jane said with a smile as he turned Mia to face him. "And I've never been happier."

Mia smiled with a blush as Jane's eyes sparkled with truth.

Slowly Jane leaned down and captured Mia's lips with his own.

Mia sighed in happiness as wound her arms around Jane's neck.

Slowly Jane started to sway the both of them and the kiss became slow, loving pecks.

"What are we doing?" Mia asked with a small smile as she pulled out of a particularly delicious kiss.

"What do you mean my love?" Jane asked with slight worry and confusion.

"I mean what are doing," Mia said simply. "Dancing without music?"

Jane relaxed slightly as he laughed at Mia's question.

"Yes," Jane replied. "We're dancing to no music but that of our hearts."

"Ooh, very poetic." Mia said as Jane took her hands in his own.

"It was, wasn't it?" Jane said with a satisfied grin.

"Oh shut up," Mia said as Jane swayed her around the room. "I'll give you a five out of ten."

Jane twirled Mia out and back into his arms, holding her as close as possible... Which wasn't very close considering Mia's belly was quite big.

"I suppose that's good enough." Jane said softly before kissing Mia softly on the lips.

Jane twirled Mia one last time and dipped her slowly before ending their semi silent dance.

"Thank you for the dance," Mia said as she kissed Jane on the cheek. "But I think your baby is hungry."

Jane smiled as he caressed Mia's stomach.

"Are you sure it's the baby and not mommy?"

"Either way could we please get some lunch?" Mia asked.

"Of course," Jane replied simply as he walked over to the closet and grabbed a nice sundress that he helped Mia pull over her head.

Once Mia had grabbed her bag and slipped on a pair of flip flops, the couple made their way to a lovely beach side restaurant for lunch.

After Jane and Mia had eaten, they said their goodbyes and Jane made his way back to the makeshift office where his colleagues were working on the case, leaving Mia at the beach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

 

“Where did you disappear off to?” Lisbon asked as Jane strolled into the makeshift office.

“Oh, you know,” Jane said with a simple wave of his hand. “I just went to get lunch and walk along the beach.”

“Which one?” Lisbon asked with suspicion.

“Does it really matter?” Jane asked. “Where are we with the case?”

“Same place we were when you left,” Lisbon said as she and Jane started walking towards where the rest of the team’s desks were placed. “We’re going to question some of Harry’s employees and see where we get with that.”

“Good idea,” Jane said. “Maybe one of them will know if Harry went through a rough patch or not.”

“That’s what I’m hoping.” Lisbon replied as Rigsby and Cho walked into the room.

“Hey Boss,” Cho said as he sat at his desk. “Jane.”

“Hey Cho,” Jane replied with a small smile.

“Cho, Rigs, I want you two to go and talk to Harry’s co-workers and see what you can find out.” Lisbon said as Rigsby and Cho stood once again.

“Sure thing boss,” Rigsby said as he and Cho started making their way towards the door once again.

“Wait up!” Jane said as he ran after the two agents.

“Be good!” Lisbon yelled after the three men.

_**The three of them together definitely spells trouble.** _

**xxxxx**

They arrived at the grocery store that Harry owned and were heading towards the front door, when a young woman came rushing out with tears in her eyes.

“Excuse me,” She said as she bumped into Cho on her way past.

“Stop her,” Jane mumbled to Cho. “She’s Harry’s daughter.”

“Ma’am,” Cho said a little hesitantly as he followed after the brunette. “I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions.”

“Sorry, but I have somewhere that I have to be.” The woman replied with a sniffle as she kept walking.

“Ma’am, we’re CBI and we’re investigating the murder of Harry Garcia, the store owner.” Cho said as he showed the woman his badge. “We just want to talk to you.”

“I…” The woman stuttered and Jane could tell she was getting nervous. “I don’t… I can’t…”

Suddenly the young woman started to run as fast as she could in the opposite direction and Cho ran after her with Rigsby in tow.

“Stop!” Cho yelled. “CBI!”

But the young brunette just kept running.

Rigsby turned down an alleyway while Cho kept hot on the woman’s heels.

Just as the two were about to turn a corner, Rigsby popped out of nowhere and the woman bumped into him with a hard thud.

“We just want to talk.” Rigsby said as he grabbed hold of the woman and held her still.

“What do you want me to say?!” The woman yelled with tears streaming down her cheeks. “That Mr Garcia was my father and he didn’t even know it? That he didn’t know I even existed? How do you think it feels, living most of your life wondering who your father is, then having him deny it once you finally find him? Huh?”

Rigsby and Cho shared a glance as Jane’s suspicions about Harry having a daughter were confirmed.

“Why don’t you just come with me and we can talk about Mr Garcia.” Rigsby said as he led the crying woman to the SUV they had arrived in.

Cho leaned on his knees as Jane carelessly strolled up behind him.

“How did you know that that was Garcia’s daughter?” Cho asked as he turned to Jane.

“I smelt her strawberry scented perfume when she bumped into you,” Jane replied simply. “I also recognized her eyes; definitely her father’s eyes.”

“Well, I guess you were right,” Cho said. “Again.”

“Why don’t you and I go and talk to the employees while Rigsby takes Ms _**Garcia**_ in for questioning?” Jane said as he motioned towards the grocery store.

“Sure,” Cho replied. “I’ll just tell Rigsby.”

“I’ll go inside so long.” Jane said as he started walking back towards the grocery store.

Jane heard the little bell as he opened the door and immediately started looking around the little store. It wasn’t too big, or heavily stocked, but it had an air of welcoming.

A man behind the counter welcomed Jane as he walked further into the building.

“Can I help you with anything?” The man asked as he wiped down the countertop of the checkout desk.

“Uh, yes, I was just wondering what you could tell me about Harry Garcia.” Jane said as he leaned against the counter.

“Mr Garcia?” The man asked and Jane could tell that he had a Hispanic twang to his accent. “What about him?”

“What is he like?” Jane asked. “Is he a good employer and storeowner?”

“Yeah,” The man replied. “One of the best I’ve ever worked for.”

“Hmm… Then why did you two not get along?” Jane asked as he watched the man closely.

“What are you talking about?” The man asked, suddenly becoming angry. “You don’t even know me!”

“No, but I do know your boss,” Jane replied. “At least I’ve seen his corpse.”

“His corpse?” The man asked with confusion. “Man, are you trippin’? I spoke to Garcia yesterday.”

“Was that before you killed him, or are you making it up?” Jane said.

“What?!” The man turned red as his eyes flashed with anger. “Man, I didn’t kill nobody!”

“OK, Ok,” Jane said as he held his hands up to calm the angry employee. “I was just getting a feel for your facial expressions.”

“What?” The man was confused as Cho walked through the door.

“Uh, I’m Patrick Jane and this is Kimbal Cho,” Jane said as he motioned to Cho to join in the conversation. “We work for the CBI.”

“The what?” The man asked.

“The California Bureau of Investigation.” Cho said as he held his badge for the man to see. “Who are you?”

“I’m Jose Ramirez,” The man said as he pointed to his name tag. “What’s he talkin’ about Mr Garcia being dead?”

“We found his body this morning on a hiking trail.” Cho said simply. “When was the last time you saw him?”

“Well, I saw him yesterday afternoon when my shift ended.” Jose replied. “I can’t believe the dude’s dead… What am I going to do now?”

“How long have you been working for Garcia?” Cho asked as he took out his notebook and started writing down Jose’s answers.

“Maybe a year or two,” Jose replied as he leaned against the countertop. “How was Garcia killed?”

“Blunt force trauma,” Jane said as he watched Jose’s features to gauge his reaction.

“Wow,” Jose replied. “Well, it wasn’t me… I was busy last night.”

“Are there any witnesses who can verify that?” Cho asked.

“Yeah,” Jose replied. “My girlfriend, but I don’t think you’d want her to go into detail.”

Jane and Cho shared a glance as they caught what Jose was talking about.

“Are there any other employees that work here?” Cho asked, changing the subject.

“Yeah,” Jose replied as he ran a hand through his dark hair. “His name’s Zac, but he hardly ever shows up. I think he’s with one of the local gangs and that’s why he’s so shifty.”

“Do you have any way of getting hold of him?” Cho asked as he scribbled in his notepad.

“Yeah, his number is here in my phone,” Jose said as he reached deep into his pocket. “I doubt he’ll answer though.”

Cho readied his pen and was about to take down the number when Jose pointed to the door and said, “Why don’t you just talk to him right now? Hey Zac!”

Cho and Jane turned to the boy and saw the fear in his eyes a second before he started running.

“Not again,” Cho said as he handed Jane his notepad and started running after the teenage boy. “CBI! Stop!”

“Why do they always run?” Jane said to Jose who simply shrugged his shoulders and carried on with his business.

**xxxxx**

“Why did you run?” Cho asked as he sat in the interrogation room with Zac Rhodes.

The boy sat in silence as he fiddled with the seam of his long sleeve shirt.

“How well did you know Mr Garcia?” Cho asked, with slight annoyance as he scribbled with frustration in his notepad.

Cho heaved a sigh as he slid his chair back loudly and stormed out of the interrogation room.

“Did he say anything?” Lisbon asked as she saw Cho coming towards them.

“Nope,” Cho replied simply. “Hasn’t said a word.”

“Alright, give it some time and we’ll try again later.” Lisbon said as she stood from her spot at the table in the middle of the room. “In the meantime see what you can find out about both Jose and Zac.”

With that Lisbon was on her way to her half of the office, leaving her team to do their jobs.

As Jane lay on the couch looking at the ceiling, an idea popped into his head.

_**Cho might not have gotten Zac to talk, but I’m sure I can.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

 

“Hi,” Jane said as he walked into the interrogation room. “I’m Patrick.”

Jane held his hand out to the boy who hesitated before shaking his hand firmly.

“There we go,” Jane said happily as he sat down at the desk. “I obviously have a gentleman in front of me.”

Zac was silent as he leaned back in his chair as watched Jane silently.

Jane pulled out a bag of potato chips and a pack of cards, causing Zac to sit up straight in his chair with a spark of interest in his eyes.

“Ah, now I have your attention.” Jane said before sorting the salty chips out easily. “Tell me Zac, have you ever played poker before?”

“Maybe once or twice,” Zac mumbled as he watched Jane deal the cards out. “I played poker with the boys and almost beat Big D once.”

“Big D huh?” Jane said, handing Zac his cards and putting some of his chips in the middle of the table.

 “Yeah, he’s the leader of our group.” Zac replied before putting some of his own chips in the middle. “His name is really Damian, but he thought that ‘Big D’ sounded cool.”

“Hmm… I’m guessing he’s more of the ‘brawn over brain’ type.” Jane said as he purposefully made a bad move.

“Yeah, he’s pretty much dumb as a brick.” Zac said with a small chuckle as he added some more of his potato chips to the pile in the middle of the table. “But I would never tell him that to his face.”

“Why? Is he really big?” Jane asked as he decided to make a good move. “Or does he have stuff on you?”

“Nah, he’s got nothin’ on me, he just has biceps called 'pain' and 'suffering'.” Zac said before throwing his cards down. “I win.”

 “Really? 'Pain' and 'Suffering'?” Jane asked as he re-dealt the cards and rearranged his potato chips.

“Yep, he thought he was genius of the week just ‘cause he came up with them.” Zac replied.

“What about you?” Jane asked. “Are you smarter than the majority of the gang?”

“I guess I am,” Zac replied with uncertainty. “But it doesn’t take much to be smarter than Viper and Big D.”

“Hmm…” Jane replied as he pretended to concentrate on the cards in his hand. “Does the gang deal drugs?”

“No way man,” Zac replied. “At least, not as much as some of the other guys. We used to deal marawana, but we tamped it down a bit when Big D almost got arrested.”

“Do you personally deal any of the drugs?” Jane asked as he added the last of his chips to the pile.

“Nah, I refused man.” Zac replied. “I was like ‘No way am I gettin’ caught with drugs on me.’ So I just let them deal it out and I scope spots for deals.”

“They must trust you if they let you pick the dealing spots.” Jane said as he watched Zac closely to see the boy’s reaction.

“I guess.” Zac said as he played a card. “But it was never s‘posed to be this way.”

“Be what way?” Jane asked as he focused fully on Zac and forgot about the cards in his hand.

“We just wanted to have a crew, y’know?” Zac said. “It was never meant to become a drug gang or anything bad.”

Jane lay his cards face down on the table as he chose his words wisely.

“Do you think one of your ‘crew’ might’ve killed Harry Garcia?” Jane asked slowly.

“No way! None of my guys would do that!” Zac yelled angrily. “We deal drugs, but we never killed nobody!”

“Are you sure?” Jane asked again. “Maybe it could’ve been Big D who accidently introduced Garcia to 'Pain' and 'Suffering'.”

“No!” Zac was standing now, arms crossed over his chest in defense. “They didn’t know Garcia enough to kill ’im.”

“Are you sure?” Jane asked calmly as he tried to read Zac’s body language.

“Yeah!” Zac replied. “They only came to the store when they really needed me. They never spoke to Garcia or anything.”

“Ok,” Jane replied. “Well, thank you for the poker game and the lovely chat.”

Jane laid his cards on the table and slowly walked out.

Just as Jane made it out of the doorway, he heard Zac yell, “No way! Straight flush!”

Jane chuckled to himself as he made his way towards where Lisbon was hiding behind a file.

“You can let Zac go.” Jane said simply as he sat on the edge of Lisbon’s desk.

“Why?” Lisbon asked somewhat sarcastically.

“He told me that he didn’t kill Garcia and he told me about his ‘crew’ and all it cost me was a dollar for a bag of chips.” Jane replied, using air quotes on the word crew.

“What? How did you get him to talk?” Lisbon asked incredulously.

“We played poker and he told me everything.” Jane replied.

“And you believe him?” Lisbon asked, watching Jane carefully.

“Yep,” Jane replied. “So you can just let him go.”

“No, I want to keep him a little longer so that Cho can talk to him some more.” Lisbon said as she started scribbling on some paper work.

“That won’t go very far, but maybe if I ask Zac where his crew hang out, we can talk to them.” Jane said as he stood and started towards the interrogation rooms.

“Whatever,” Lisbon mumbled before calling Cho over.

**xxxxx**

“This place gives me the creeps.” Rigsby said as he and Jane walked down the dirty alleyway, looking for Zac’s crew.

“It’s not that bad.” Jane said with a shrug as they came to a moldy wooden door that had music blasting from inside. “I guess this is the place.”

Rigsby knocked on the door and waited until a boy who looked to be about nineteen swung the door open slowly.

“Can I help you?” The boy asked as he looked Jane and Rigsby up and down with suspicion.

“We’re with CBI,” Rigsby said as he flashed his badge. “We need to talk to Big D.”

The boy gave one last skeptical glance before closing the door again.

Jane and Rigsby shared as glance as they tried to hear what was going on inside.

Suddenly the loud rap music stopped and there was a scraping of chairs.

Rigsby unclipped his holster and rested his hand on his weapon and he knocked on the door loudly.

“CBI! Open up!” Rigsby yelled.

The door swung open and a meaty teenager appeared. He had a cap the sat askew on his head and a snake tattoo that ran from the tip of his middle finger all the way up to his left ear. A wafting cloud of smoke was almost visible as all Jane and Rigsby smelled was marawana.

“Are you Big D?” Rigsby asked as he subtly tried not to breathe.

“Who’s asking?” The teen asked as he wobbled from side to side.

“Wayne Rigsby and Patrick Jane,” Rigsby replied as he pulled his badge out again. “We’re from CBI.”

“CB what?” The teen asked with confusion before running his hand over his face.

“California Bureau of Investigation.” Rigsby explained with a sigh. “Now, I’m not going to ask again; are you Big D?”

“Yeah,” Damian replied. “Why you asking?”

“We’re investigating the murder of Harry Garcia.” Jane said.

“Who’s that?” Damian asked as he leaned against the door frame.

“He owns the grocery store that Zac works at.” Jane answered.

“I don’t know him.” Big D said and slowly turned around to the darkened room. “Anybody know Harry Garcia?”

A chorus of ‘no’ could be heard coming from inside of the smoky room.

“Nah, nobody knows him here, so we couldn’t have killed him.” Big D said as he turned to Jane and Rigsby. “You wanna ask anything else?”

Rigsby was about to reply when Jane spoke up and said, “No, that’s all for now thanks.” and started pulling Rigsby away from the door.

“Why are we leaving?” Rigsby asked. “He could’ve told us more.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Jane scoffed. “That kid is higher than a kite! When the fumes are so thick that you can’t see anything, I suggest it’s a good time to move on.”

“But maybe one of his goons killed Garcia.” Rigsby said.

“Please, I don’t think any of those guys has been sober for months.” Jane replied.

“So what do we do now?” Rigsby asked. “We have no other suspects.”

“Why don’t we delve into Jose’s past a little bit more?” Jane said as he started walking towards the van. “It might be worth a shot.”

“Whatever,” Rigsby said to himself with a sigh as he pulled out his phone. “I better call Lisbon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

 

"This guy is squeaky clean." Rigsby said pointedly. "Apart from a couple of parking tickets, he's done nothing wrong."

"OK, so maybe I was wrong about José, but I definitely don't think it was any of Damian's men." Jane said as he sat at the metal table, cup of tea in hand.

"Who else could it have been?" Lisbon asked with a challenging tilt of the head.

"That's what I'm not sure about." Jane replied as he tapped his chin thoughtfully.

Lisbon rolled her eyes as she started paging through the case file in front of her.

Jane was thinking to himself quietly when he suddenly had a light bulb moment.

Jane stood from his seat and started making his way towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" Lisbon asked with confusion.

"I'm going to consult a source that might be able to assist in the case."

**xxxxx**

The little shopping stalls were busy and Mia almost felt claustrophobic, which was weird since she usually enjoyed getting lost in the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

There were lots of interesting things to buy, but Mia just enjoyed looking.

Suddenly, a strong pair of arms encircled Mia's waist and a warm kiss was placed on her neck.

"Hello beautiful," Jane said as he held Mia in his arms. "Have you been enjoying yourself so far?"

"Yes," Mia replied happily as she relaxed in Jane's arms. "How's the case going?"

"That's one of the reasons I came to see you so soon." Jane said as he kissed Mia one more time before letting her go. "I need your help."

"Hmm... The great Patrick Jane needs my help again?" Mia teased as she and Jane walked hand in hand through the streets, past the stalls. "What do you need help with exactly?"

"I'm struggling a little bit with trying to determine who the killer is." Jane replied simply as they started to get further from the busy people. “The guy I had suspicions about turned out to be clean and the other guys are too high to have done it.”

“Did you bring a case file?” Mia asked as Jane led her to a secluded bench.

“Of course,” Jane said as he pulled the file out from inside his suit coat. “I wouldn’t expect you to help me without facts.”

Mia smiled as she took the file and started paging through it.

“Did you check out the employees?” Mia asked with a brief glance at Jane.

“Yes, I thought Jose might be the one who killed Harry, but he came out clean.” Jane replied. “And Zac doesn’t seem like the type.”

“Did you check out all of the druggies?” Mia asked as she closed the file and placed it between them on the bench.

“Only the leader, but by the looks of their ‘pad’, I’d say none of them were sober.” Jane replied.

They sat a while in silence before Jane developed a look of confusion.

“Who are you thinking of?” Mia asked as she leaned in closer.

“It’s nobody… Just… there was a kid who opened the door for us when we went to talk to the gang leader, but he didn’t look drugged at all.” Jane said as he tried to think of the boy who had opened the door for him and Rigsby. “In fact, I think he was analyzing me and Rigsby.”

“Maybe he was the one who killed Harry,” Mia said. “Or he knows who did.”

“Maybe… but he looked… familiar.” Jane said and leaned forward as he placed his head in his hands.

Mia was about to reach her hand over to Jane when his head suddenly shot up and he pointed his finger up.

“I know where I’ve seen him before, well at least the family resemblance.” Jane said. “He looks a lot like Jose.”

“Maybe he’s the younger brother.” Mia said as she watched Jane pull his phone out.

“That’s what I’m hoping.” Jane said as he held the phone up to his ear. “Grace, I need you to look up Jose’s file and see if he has any siblings or cousins.”

After a brief pause Jane thanked Van Pelt and ended the call with a smile.

“We were right gorgeous,” Jane said as he turned to Mia with a triumphant smile. “Jose has one brother named Julio.”

“But that still doesn’t tell us who the killer is.” Mia replied. “It could either be one or both of them, or it could be someone completely different.”

“I guess I’ll just have to ask Jose and find out.” Jane replied before slowly taking Mia’s hand in his own. “How are you feeling though?”

“What do you mean?” Mia asked with confusion.

“Do you feel nauseous or tired or achy?” Jane asked and Mia could see the concern in his eyes.

“No, I feel happy,” Mia said with a wide smile as she intertwined their fingers. “Why do you ask?”

“I guess I’m just trying to play the concerned boyfriend.” Jane said with a smile of his own.

“Well, maybe you should be the passionate boyfriend for a second and give me a kiss.” Mia said with a cheeky grin.

“I guess I could do that.” Jane said as he leaned in and kissed Mia sweetly.

**xxxxx**

“Look, I already told you guys that I don’t know anything about Garcia’s murder OK?” Jose said as he sat across from Jane and the ever stoic Cho.

“How come you didn’t tell us about your brother?” Cho asked.

“And the fact that he’s in the same gang as Zac.” Jane added.

Jose sighed as he saw that he didn’t really have a choice but to tell the truth.

“Ok, look, I didn’t tell you guys about my brother cause you never asked, but I swear that I only found out about Garcia when you guys told me this morning.” Jose said.

Jane and Cho shared a glance that made Jose a little more nervous.

“Are you sure you’re telling us everything?” Jane asked as he rested his arms on the table. “Because I don’t feel like I’m getting the whole story.”

Jose sighed as he looked down at his lap.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen.” Jose mumbled darkly.

“What wasn’t supposed to happen?” Jane asked as he leaned in closer.

“Garcia wasn’t supposed to know,” Jose said a little louder as he tensed his jaw. “He wasn’t supposed to mess around with other people’s business.”

“Let me guess, Garcia found out that your brother was in a gang and tried to help.” Jane said as he watched Jose closely.

“The dude comes along and says he can help, but he doesn’t know _**anything**_ about gangs.” Jose fumed. “He thinks you just go to the guys and say ‘I don’t want to be in a gang anymore’ like a freakin’ fairy princess! It doesn’t work like that!”

“So you killed him.” Cho said as he scribbled some things down in his notepad.

“Some kid had left his stupid little baseball bat in the park,” Jose said as his eyes looked far off. “It was just sitting there… So I grabbed it.”

Jose suddenly broke down into tears as he went over the memories in his mind.

“I didn’t want to kill him,” Jose blubbered. “I just wanted him to back off. But first he was going on about his daughter and how he didn’t want Julio to end up like him, even though he’d never been in a gang in his whole life! I just got so damn angry! So I ended the conversation.”

Jane stood from his seat at the metal table as Cho pulled out his handcuffs and started reading Jose his rights.

**xxxxx**

“How did you know that it was Jose?” Lisbon asked as they all sat together, waiting for Rigsby to return with the closed case pizza. “His record was clean and he seemed perfectly sane.”

“Well, let’s just say that I have a very reliable source,” Jane replied with a smug smile that caused Lisbon to look at him in confusion. “I guess I’ll see you all back in Sacramento on Monday.”

“Wait, aren’t you gonna stay for closed case pizza?” Grace asked.

“Nah, I’ve got plans.” Jane replied simply as he gathered his jacket and other belongings.

“Who could you possibly have plans with?” Cho asked incredulously, but still with a straight face.

“OK, the truth is,” Jane began as he turned to the group. “I just wanted to take advantage of the room service at the hotel and have a relaxing weekend. Maybe I’ll even go to the spa.”

“Whatever,” Lisbon replied. “I guess we’ll see you on Monday.”

“Have a good weekend all!” Jane said cheerfully before leaving the building.

**xxxxx**

“Your Romeo has arrived to save you from complete boredom my princess.” Jane said as he walked through the door.

But all Jane could do was smile as he saw Mia fast asleep on the bed, still in her bikini.

_**The trip and the day at the beach must’ve worn her out.**_ Jane thought to himself as he silently walked over to the bed.

Jane climbed onto the bed as carefully as he could and turned to face Mia.

Jane moved some hair out of her face before kissing her forehead softly.

Mia stirred as Jane pulled back and smiled at the cute little noises she was making.

“Patrick?” Mia said groggily as she rubbed at her eyes.

“I’m right here beautiful.” Jane said as he scooted the smallest bit closer. “Did you enjoy your nap?”

“Mm,” Mia hummed with a small smile as her eyes became accustomed to the light. “Did you solve the case?”

“Yep, you and I were right.” Jane replied as he propped himself up on his elbow. “Jose killed Garcia out of anger, because he was trying to help him get his brother out of the gang.”

“It’s silly the things that people kill for.” Mia said as she rested her head on Jane’s chest.

“Yes it is,” Jane replied before placing a kiss on the top of Mia’s head. “Are you hungry?”

“A little,” Mia said as she tilted her head up to look at Jane. “What about you?”

“I’m peckish.” Jane said with a smile as he looked into Mia’s hazel eyes.

Jane kissed Mia sweetly on the lips as she hummed with happiness. Mia pulled Jane’s hand onto her belly and linked their fingers over the tiny baby that was growing inside.

“Could we have chocolate covered strawberries?” Mia asked after they pulled away.

“Anything you desire my love.” Jane replied before kissing Mia’s head one more time and jumping off of the bed to order room service.

The rest of the weekend was spent in bliss as they enjoyed the sand, surf, spa, and amazing room service.

The drive to Sacramento was long as both knew that Jane would have to go back to work and Mia would have to go back to being bored.

But at least they had each other, even if they were apart for most of the day, they still knew that they had the other person and that someone was there to love them… Even at three in the morning when you’re puking your guts out because of morning sickness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

 

Two weeks of boredom for both Jane and Mia, but luckily for them they had Mia’s due date to look forward to.

Jane was just doing the math in his head as he was shaving in the bathroom.

“Just a few more months and we’ll have our little angel.” Jane said as Mia walked into the bathroom.

“I know! I’m so excited!” Mia said as she walked over to Jane as hugged him from behind. “But I’m also kinda scared.”

“There’s no need to be.” Jane said as he wiped his face with the hand towel. “I’ve done this before, plus I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”

“I know.” Mia replied as she took the hand towel from Jane and wiped some shaving cream off of his neck. “Thank you.”

“What for?” Jane asked with confusion as he took the towel from Mia and hung it up.

“Everything,” Mia replied before kissing Jane with a kiss that showed her love and happiness.

“You better get going, otherwise you’ll be late for work.” Mia said as she played with a stray curl after ending the kiss.

Jane left the bathroom and got dressed as Mia washed her face and put on some light make-up.

Mia went over to the full length mirror in the bathroom and looked at herself with a small smile.

“I’ll see you later,” Jane said as he kissed Mia on her temple.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, come back here and give me a proper kiss.” Mia said playfully as she turned to Jane with her hands on her hips.

Jane kissed Mia slowly and sweetly before giving her a hug.

“And the baby?” Mia said with a smile.

“Of course,” Jane replied as he went down on a knee. “I almost forgot. I'll see you later little one, don’t be too hard on mommy and look after her.”

Mia giggled as Jane kissed her belly and nuzzled it with his nose.

“I’ll see you tonight beautiful.” Jane said before kissing Mia one more time.

“See you later.” Mia replied as Jane left the bathroom.

Mia turned back to the mirror and rubbed her belly.

“Looks like it’s just you and mommy again.” Mia said with a small smile. “How about ice-cream for breakfast?”

**xxxxx**

A slow day, a hungry Rigsby and a cold cup of tea was not what Jane really wanted right now.

He lay on the couch and thought about Mia as the buzz of the busy bullpen lulled him slowly.

Jane pulled out his phone and flipped it open to look through the pictures he and Mia had taken while they were in Los Angeles.

He flipped through the photos and smiled as each one made him think of Mia.

He wondered what she was doing right now.

Reading? Singing? Solving some Sudoku puzzles?

**xxxxx**

Mia hummed as she scrubbed the last of the dishes and rinsed it off. Mia placed the dish on the rack and dried her hands as she looked out of the window into the picturesque garden.

Mia walked over to the fridge and grabbed the nice, cold jug of water. She poured herself half a glass of the refreshing liquid and took a long sip.

Mia walked back towards the bedroom when she heard a sound that made her jump a little.

“Hello?” Mia called out as she grabbed her phone and put it into her pocket. “Patrick?”

Suddenly a loud bang sounded through the house and Mia could tell that someone was jimmying the metal gate that was in front of her door.

Mia snuck over to the window and peaked through a tiny slit in the curtain. A man with a black hoodie and some type of a mask was trying to jiggle the gate open.

Mia ran to the bedroom, shut the door, and pulled out her cell phone. She pressed one on the speed dial and waited anxiously as the dial tone sounded.

“Hello beautiful, I was just…”

“Patrick, listen to me, I think someone’s trying to break into the house.” Mia said hurriedly as she strained her ears to hear any noises. “He’s got a hoodie and some kind of a mask.”

“Mia calm down,” Jane said as he sat upright on his couch. “Where are you?”

“I’m hiding in the bedroom, but I think he got the metal gate open.” Mia replied and Jane could hear that she was close to tears.

“Mia, just breathe, stress isn’t good for you or the baby.” Jane said as he looked for his jacket. “You know where my gun is, if you need to… use it. I’m on my way.”

Jane ended the call and pulled his jacket on quickly as he ran towards the elevator.

Lisbon was just walking out of her office with file in hand when Jane sped past her and nearly knocked her off of her balance.

“Whoa, Jane are you OK?” Lisbon asked as Jane ran away. “Jane!”

**xxxxx**

Jane’s breaks squealed as he pulled into the driveway and ran towards the front door.

Jane found the door open and immediately felt a chill running up his spine.

“Mia!” Jane shouted as he ran towards the bedroom. “Mia, are you here?”

Jane looked through the bedroom and found his hand gun on the floor.

“Mia!” Jane yelled as he ran towards the living room.

Jane was going down the hall when he passed something that caught his eye.

It was a small red smiley face on the wall and just under it was a sticky note.

_**Catch us if you can.** _

Jane read the note as he pulled it off of the wall.

“No,” Jane said softly as he sank to his knees. “No!”

**xxxxx**

 Lisbon looked up to see a breathless Jane walk through her office door.

“Jane, are you OK?” Lisbon asked with concern. “You left so fast earlier that I…”

“Just listen,” Jane said hurriedly as he leaned against Lisbon’s desk. “He took her. He took her away from me!”

“Jane, who took someone away from you?” Lisbon asked with confusion.

“Red John,” Jane spat sadly as tears started streaming down his cheeks again. “Red John took Mia.”

“Don’t worry; we’ll do everything we can…” Lisbon began, but was interrupted by a furious Jane.

“No, you don’t understand!” Jane yelled. “She’s pregnant!”

Jane walked over to Lisbon’s couch and sank into it with a sigh.

“Mia’s pregnant.” Jane said to himself softly.

“What do you mean Mia’s pregnant?” Lisbon asked slowly as she stood from her seat and walked around her desk to lean against the corner of it.

“That’s the reason Mia took vacation time from Sac PD.” Jane replied. “That’s also why she hasn’t been around that much. She’s pregnant… with my baby.”

Lisbon didn’t know what to say. She was absolutely speechless.

“Well… Why didn’t you tell anybody?” Lisbon asked softly.

“We thought that it would be more difficult for Red John to find out about the baby.” Jane said softly as he just started at his hands. “We knew that we would have to tell everyone sooner or later, but we opted for later.”

They sat in silence as Lisbon tried to take in the information Jane had just told her.

“I didn’t want him to take another family from me.” Jane said eventually. “But he’s going to… No matter what I do… He is destined to destroy me.”

 Lisbon decided to pick her next words very carefully so she wouldn’t upset Jane anymore.

“Jane, listen to me,” Lisbon began slowly. “I promise you that we will find Mia before Red John can hurt her. No matter what it takes… I’ll make sure you get her and your baby back safe and sound.”

Jane took a deep breath before looking to Lisbon with red eyes that broke her heart.

“Thank you Lisbon.” Jane said simply.

“I’m gonna call Daniel and tell him what’s happened.” Lisbon said to Jane. “Where was Mia taken from?”

“From her apartment,” Jane replied. “And… he left a small red smiley.”

“Alright, you go and update Cho, Van Pelt and Rigsby, and tell Van Pelt to send forensic techs to Mia’s apartment.” Lisbon said to Jane as she started dialing Daniel’s number.

Jane was just leaving Lisbon’s office when he stopped and turned to Lisbon with a watery smile.

“Thank you Lisbon,” He said. “You truly are one of my best friends.”

Lisbon just gave a simple smile as Jane disappeared to the bullpen to inform the team of their newest battle… The battle to finally catch Red John… and save Mia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

 

 The bullpen buzzed busily as everyone tried to find Red John and Mia. Daniel and his team had arrived and paired off with their counterparts on Lisbon’s team. Daniel, however, was trying to hold himself back from punching Jane in the nose. For some odd reason he blamed Jane for the fact that Mia was kidnapped by Red John.

Just then Lisbon walked in after speaking to the Forensic Department on the phone.

“Good news,” Lisbon announced loudly. “Forensics has confirmed that the smiley was paint, not blood.”

Everyone breathed a small sigh of relief before continuing their busy tapping at the keyboards.

Jane was simply staring blankly into the distance and Lisbon felt an overwhelming amount of concern for the blonde man.

“Jane?” Lisbon said softly, awaking Jane from his daze. “We are going to find her.”

“I know…” Jane replied softly, although it wasn’t that convincing.

“Maybe you should go home and we’ll call you when we get something?” Lisbon suggested.

“I can’t,” Jane replied simply. “It’s a crime scene.”

Lisbon was a little confused before she put two and two together… He obviously meant Mia’s place.

Lisbon heaved a sigh as she sat down next to Jane on his old leather couch.

“How long have you two been dating?” Lisbon asked.

“I don’t know,” Jane replied honestly. “It all happened so fast.”

“Well, how far along is Mia?” Lisbon asked as she tried to read Jane’s face.

“Almost four months,” Jane replied with a watery smile. “We were joking and saying that the baby was going to have super curly hair and be an amazing mind reader.”

Jane started crying again and Lisbon reached her hand out and rubbed it along his back.

“I’m sure it will be a beautiful baby,” Lisbon said with a smile as she tried to comfort Jane. “How about some tea?”

“Thank you Lisbon,” Jane replied before Lisbon stood to go and make some tea for the sad man.

Daniel followed behind Lisbon into the kitchenette.

“It’s his fault you know,” Daniel said as he leaned against the counter and faced Lisbon with an angry glare. “If he had just stayed away from Mia then none of this would have happened.”

Lisbon sighed as she knew what was coming up next… a boring speech about how irresponsible Jane was and how he always ruined everything.

“Look,” Lisbon said as she turned to Daniel. “It’s not Jane’s fault. Red John could’ve taken Mia just because she had worked with Jane a couple of times.”

“Yeah, but because of him two lives are at stake instead of one.” Daniel replied.

“I know you’re upset, but maybe you should see things from Jane’s point of view.” Lisbon replied angrily. “He’s already lost one woman he loved and a daughter. This is like déjà vu for him. Just try and be a little more sympathetic.”

“I am, but I’m a little more concerned about Mia’s wellbeing than Patrick Jane’s.” Daniel replied simply.

“I understand, but all I’m asking is for you to spend less time being angry and more time actually helping to find Mia.” Lisbon said as she poured Jane’s tea for him.

Daniel simply huffed and went off to see where his team had gotten.

Lisbon had a small smile on her face as she gave Jane his tea and waited anxiously for his thoughts on her tea brewing skills.

“Thank you Lisbon,” Jane said after he had taken a sip. “It’s just right.”

“You’re welcome.” Lisbon said before joining her team in the huddle of trying to find any info.

Jane swallowed back a few tears before putting his tea cup down and leaning his head against the back of the couch.

Suddenly, Jane’s phone started vibrating in his pocket. Jane opened his phone with a puzzled look and saw that he had received a text message.

_**Are you alone?** _

The text message read and Jane hastily took a look around before leaving the bullpen and locking himself inside one of the interrogation rooms.

_**Yes** _

Jane replied and a few seconds later his phone started ringing.

“Hello Patrick,” Came the bone chilling voice of the serial killer who had been haunting Jane for years.

“Just let her go,” Jane said angrily. “Let Mia go.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Red John replied. “But I can tell you that she really is a beauty.”

“I’m warning you, I will find you and cut you up,” Jane spat into the phone as he saw red. “I’ve had enough of you and your games. This has to end.”

“Alrighty then,” Red John replied. “Meet me in half an hour at the address that I will send to your phone and we can have our showdown.”

“On one condition,” Jane replied nervously. “You let Mia go.”

“Fine, but you also have a condition,” Red John said sinisterly. “No help from _**any**_ of your friends… and no other cops either.”

“Deal.” Jane replied as he took a deep breath.

“See you soon Patrick,” Red John replied creepily before hanging up the phone.

Jane received the text with the meeting place address as he walked back to the bullpen and collected his belongings.

“Jane?” Lisbon said as she watched Jane with confusion. “What are you doing?”

“I can’t talk now, I have to go.” Jane replied simply before making his way towards the elevator.

Lisbon followed him to the elevator, intent on questioning him.

“Jane, did Red John contact you?” Lisbon asked carefully.

“No,” Jane replied without glancing in Lisbon’s direction. “I just need to think.”

“Please Jane,” Lisbon said sadly as the elevator dinged. “Let us help you.”

Jane climbed into the elevator.

“Let me help you.” Lisbon said softly.

Jane heaved a sigh as he stopped the elevator doors from closing and stepped out of the ancient contraption.

“Red John doesn’t want any cops.” Jane said simply.

“We’ll keep our distance.” Lisbon replied.

Jane chuckled as he shook his head.

“You don’t understand,” Jane said. “This is Red John we’re dealing with. He will kill Mia without any hesitation.”

“We will be careful,” Lisbon retaliated. “I swear. We just want to help Jane.”

They stood a while in silence and Jane ran his fingers through his curly hair.

“Fine,” Jane said softly. “But you have to promise to listen to me and do what I say.”

“We will.” Lisbon replied with a small smile. “I promise.”

“Let’s go then.” Jane said before leading the way back to the bullpen.

**xxxxx**

“Alright, do we all know the plan?” Lisbon said as they all huddled around the metal table near the flat screen TV in the bullpen.

“Everyone will keep to their slice of the perimeter and move in on Jane’s word.” Cho said as he looked around at all of the people.

“My team and I will stick to the rooftops and provide aerial support.” Daniel said as he looked to each of his team in turn.

“Good, let’s get going.” Lisbon said and they all made their way to the garage area.

Jane’s hands started shaking as he climbed into his Citroen all alone.

This was it… The final showdown…

No pressure of course.

_**You can do this Patrick,**_ Jane thought to himself as he started the car. _**For Mia and the baby.**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

 

The buzz of radio chatter sounded through the vans that Lisbon and her team were in. Everyone was running through their final checks as they waited for Jane’s car to pull up.

“Here he comes,” Cho said into his radio as Jane’s car came to stop in the empty parking lot of the old, musty warehouse.

“Keep your eyes open and your weapons ready.” Lisbon commanded before they lost sight of Jane as he made his way into the darkness of the building.

It took a few minutes for Jane’s eyes to adjust to the light as he smelt the old room that probably hadn’t been cleaned in years.

All around were old, torn posters, indicating that this warehouse might have once been a building full of life… That is until it, like everything else… died.

“I’m here!” Jane said loudly, but the only reply he got was the soft echo of his own voice. “Let’s stop playing games and finally face each other! Or are you a coward?”

That last question seemed to send something stirring through the air and Jane felt a chill run down his spine as shadows moved around the old room.

“It’s nice of you to come Patrick,” A sinister voice spoke. “We were afraid you weren’t coming.”

Two figures stepped into the only real ray of sunlight in the room and Jane immediately recognized them to be Red John and Mia.

“Why would you think I wouldn’t come?” Jane asked as he tried to keep his voice smooth and hypnotic.

“Well, a leopard can’t change his spots,” Red John replied. “And you have always been a selfish man.”

Red John had a large, shiny blade pressed not too firmly against Mia’s neck and his right hand was wrapped tightly around her shoulders, forcing her arms to her chest.

Jane could see the tear streaks on Mia’s pale cheeks and he immediately felt a fire burning in his chest.

“That’s rich talk for a man who kills for pleasure,” Jane said as he took a slow step forward. “Tell me, is it easy to wield that blade, or is there a slight chance that you sometimes find yourself doubting your thirst for blood?”

“Oh Patrick,” Red John chuckled. “You’ll never change will you? Even now you’re attempting to appeal to my better nature and use your little mind tricks to turn me. Well I can tell you now that I have never felt the slightest bit of hesitation with my beautiful blade. I could always demonstrate.”

Red John lifted the knife so that the blade looked like a flash of lighting.

“No!” Jane yelled as he took a weak step forward.

“Hmm… so you do actually care for her.” Red John said as he lowered the blade back to its original position. “I was wondering if you weren’t maybe snatching up your first chance at a second family… whether you loved the mother of your children or not.”

“Just please,” Jane pleaded miserably. “Let her go.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that Patrick,” Red John replied. “I wouldn’t be sticking to my plan if I did.”

“Please,” Jane said as he tried to think quickly. “Let Mia go and take me instead so that we can finally finish the battle that concerns only the two of us.”

Red John seemed to contemplate this idea, but didn’t have much time to think as Mia started crying and said, “No Patrick, please!”

“Hush!” Red John said angrily as he lifted his blade slightly. “You know, you two were definitely cut from the exact same cloth. You’re both so similar, which makes it easy for me to see why you two work so well together. You have the same work ethic.”

Jane felt like time was moving just a little too slowly as he kept his gaze on the glinting blade and on Red John’s mysteriously disgusting mask at the same time.

“Please,” Jane pleaded one last time. “A trade.”

“Fine,” Red John replied with a slightly frustrated sigh. “Slowly walk forward.”

**xxxxx**

In the vans, the air was tense as they listened to every word exchanged between the serial killer and their friend.

_**“** **Please,** **”**_ They heard Jane say somewhat desperately. _**“** **A** **trade.** **”**_

Everyone waited with baited breath as they listened hard for Red John’s reply.

_**“Fine… Slowly walk forward.”** _

“That’s it,” Lisbon said into the radio. “Let’s move in.”

**xxxxx**

“That’s it,” Red John said as he slowly started loosening his grip on Mia. “Slowly.”

As Jane was about to reach his hand out for Mia, everything went downhill.

“CBI! Freeze!” Lisbon screamed as they all burst in, weapons raised.

Red John panicked as he realized that he had been played. He should’ve known that Jane would involve his friends.

Red John jerked Mia back into his arms and swiftly shoved the glistening blade of fate into her back, almost all the way through to the front of her ribcage.

“No!” Jane yelled as Mia’s cry of pain rang through the warehouse and she collapsed to the floor.

Red John ran as fast as he could, using the back exit that he had had in mind as a plan B.

Everything slowed down as Jane collapsed to his knees and gathered Mia in his arms.

“No…” Jane sobbed miserably as he kept one hand on Mia’s wound and the other ran through her hair.

Mia lay in Jane’s arms unconsciously and Jane was oblivious to Lisbon’s orders to her team.

Lisbon yelled for Rigsby and Cho to chase after Red John and for van Pelt to call in an ambulance.

Lisbon knelt down next to Jane and was about to lay her hand on his shoulder in comfort when he pulled further away.

“Stay away!” Jane said. “This is your fault! I should never have got you guys involved.”

Lisbon’s heart was torn in two as Jane’s words pierced her deeply.

Lisbon stood again and went to stand next to van Pelt as they listened to Jane’s whispered words.

“Please Mia,” Jane sobbed. “Don’t leave me.”

**xxxxx**

Everyone was talking in a rush of voices as they sped the gurney through the halls of the hospital.

“I need an IV!”

“Clear the way!”

“Where’s the doctor?”

And all Jane could do was follow in silence until they told him that he couldn’t go any further.

The doors closed and Mia disappeared out of sight.

Jane swallowed back tears as he sank down into one of the hard chairs in the waiting room.

There was blood on his hands and his suit, but he couldn’t even think about that as he remembered Mia’s face… The expression she had had just seconds before Red John had stabbed her.

He remembered how frightened she had looked… How it had seemed as if her eyes were pleading for him to save her.

Jane was brought out of his reverie when a paper cupped filled with steamy tea was held underneath his nose.

He looked up and immediately felt the tiniest bit guilty as he realized who the tea bearer was.

“Lisbon,” Came Jane’s muffled words as his throat ached from crying. “Thank you.”

Jane took the tea and took a sip before placing the cup on the small table beside him.

Lisbon moved into the chair next to Jane and lifted one of the magazines to start lazily paging through the glossy pages of gossip.

“I…” Jane began, but he just couldn’t find the words to say. “I’m sorry… about what I said… in the warehouse.”

Lisbon lifted her head and her mood softened as she saw how broken Jane was.

“It’s OK,” Lisbon said as she briefly placed her hand on top of Jane’s. “I understand that you were in an emotional position. I know that you didn’t mean any of those words you said.”

“Thank you for understanding, Lisbon,” Jane said with a small, watery smile. “I was worried I had run out of second chances.”

And so the wait began… The wait as Mia and the baby’s life hung in the balance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

 

It had been six, almost seven hours since Mia had disappeared so that the doctors could try and save her life and that of the baby.

Daniel had joined Jane and Lisbon shortly after Mia had gone into surgery. He had anxiously been pacing for the past half hour.

“What could be taking so long?” Daniel asked somewhat angrily as he ran his hand down his face and checked his watch. “Surely we should’ve seen a doctor by now.”

“Why don’t you go home Detective?” Lisbon offered as she could feel a headache coming on from Daniel’s continued pacing. “You could use some rest.”

“No, I have to stay here and make sure Mia’s OK.” Daniel said as he eyed Jane and carried on pacing.

“I’ll let you know if anything comes up,” Lisbon said. “Besides, when Mia comes out, she’ll probably want to make sure that you got some rest.”

“I guess,” Daniel said as he slowed his movements. “Alright, but you have to call as soon as she comes out.”

“I will,” Lisbon said with a small smile as she realized that she had won the tiny competition. “Have a good night Detective.”

Jane breathed a sigh of relief as Daniel walked out of the hospital doors. He already felt bad enough about what had happened to Mia; he didn’t need Daniel’s constant glares to remind him.

“You OK?” Lisbon asked as she lightly touched her hand to Jane’s forearm.

“Yeah,” Jane replied softly. “I’m good. You?”

“Yep.” Lisbon replied.

Silence again.

Jane looked towards the doors that they had taken Mia through, hoping that a doctor would just walk out and give them the least bit of news.

Jane’s hopes lifted as a man in a doctor’s coat rounded the corner and started walking towards where he and Lisbon were seated.

“Anyone here for a Miss…” the doctor ducked his head to look at his clipboard and Jane held his breath in anticipation. “Mia Black?”

“Yes, that’s us,” Jane replied as he hurriedly stood from his seat.

He had washed his hands, but his shirt still had some blood on it.

“Of course,” The doctor, Dr. O’Connell, said slowly. “Any family?”

“Yes, sort of,” Jane replied. “I’m her boyfriend. She doesn’t have anybody else.”

“Alright,” Dr. O’Connell replied. “May I speak with you in private?”

Jane looked to Lisbon briefly and got a small nod from her.

“Yes,” Jane replied.

“Right this way.” Dr. O’Connell replied as he led Jane through the doors that Mia had disappeared through.

“The surgery went well,” Dr. O’Connell said as they stopped outside of a room that Jane assumed was Mia’s. “She lost a lot of blood, but we managed to close up the wound and prevent infection.”

“Good,” Jane said slowly. “But, what about… the uh… the baby?”

“Ah, yes,” The doctor said thoughtfully as he looked down at his clipboard. “I’m very sorry, I’m afraid we couldn’t save the baby.”

Tears started to form in Jane’s eyes again at the news and the doctor placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Can I, um, can I see her?” Jane asked as he held the tears in.

“Of course,” Dr. O’Connell replied. “Take all the time you need, visiting hours won’t apply at the moment.”

“Thank you,” Jane said softly as the doctor gave one last smile and walked away.

Jane took a deep breath before opening the door and seeing Mia for the first time in six, almost seven hours.

Jane’s heart broke as he saw the many pipes attached to Mia’s slim arms and heard the beeping of the heart machine.

Jane walked in slowly after closing the door behind him and pulled a chair from the corner. He put the chair as close to Mia’s bed as possible and sat down slowly.

“I’m so sorry Mia,” Jane said as he ran a hand over her pale face. “I never wanted this to happen.”

Jane let the tears roll down his cheek as he took Mia’s delicate, soft hand in his large, rough one. Jane ran his hands through Mia’s hair slowly as he watched her closely.

“Don’t worry beautiful,” Jane said softly. “I’ll be here all night.”

**xxxxx**

Jane didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until the object his head was resting on started to move and a small, delicate hand started running its fingers through his unruly curls.

Jane lifted his head slowly and was met by a beautiful smile.

“Mia,” Jane said softly, his voice gravelly from sleep.

“Hi,” Mia replied as she continued playing with Jane’s curls.

Jane, now that he was awake, noticed that he was pressed right up against Mia’s bed with his arms next to her side. He had obviously fallen asleep with his head on Mia’s bed and his body still in the hospital chair.

“How are you feeling?” Jane asked as he took Mia’s left hand in his own.

“A little sore,” Mia replied. “But I’m glad that you’re the first person I woke up to.”

Jane smiled as Mia’s hand came to rest on his stubble covered cheek.

“How long have you been awake?” Jane asked.

“Just a few minutes,” Mia replied. “Did you guys catch him?”

Jane knew who Mia was talking about and he remembered the phone call that Lisbon had received when Mia was in her third hour of surgery.

“No,” Jane replied sadly. “They couldn’t find him. But don’t worry; I’ll make sure he never touches you again.”

Mia smiled but Jane could tell that there was a question she wanted to ask.

“What’s the matter my love?” Jane asked as he pulled Mia’s hand from his cheek onto his neck.

“Did the… did the baby…?” Mia didn’t bother to finish her sentence because she could already guess what the answer would be.

Jane simply nodded his head no and kissed Mia’s hand as the tears started to form in her eyes.

Mia started to cry and Jane sat upright, pulling Mia’s head onto his shoulder slowly. He held her to him as she cried and he whispered sweet, comforting nothings into her ear.

After a while the tears stopped and Mia simply lay with her head on Jane’s shoulder, fiddling with the fabric of his dress shirt.

“What’s gonna happen now?” Mia asked softly, breaking the silence.

“What do you mean?” Jane asked with slight confusion.

“I mean, what do we do now that Red John is gone and we don’t have a baby to look forward to anymore?” Mia said as she tilted her head up to look into Jane’s blue-green eyes.

“I don’t know,” Jane replied truthfully. “I suppose we’ll have to see what the future holds.”

Mia nodded her head as she lifted it from Jane’s shoulder. She scooted over a little and patted the spot beside her on the bed, motioning for Jane to join her.

Jane removed his waistcoat and laid it on top of his suit jacket that was resting on the back of his chair. He also kicked off his worn brown shoes and joined Mia on the bed.

Mia cuddled into his side and Jane pulled the thin blanket up over the both of them.

Mia looked up to Jane and he rested his right hand on her cheek lightly.

Mia leaned up and the two lovers’ lips met in a soft kiss that was somewhat of a conversation between the two. The conversational kiss was slow and soft as all of the stress, pain, worry, and love came out.

“I still love you, Patrick,” Mia said after they had pulled away. “I always will.”

“I will always love you too,” Jane said as he pulled his arms tighter around Mia, but not tight enough to hurt her. “No matter what happens… I will always love you.”

**xxxxx**

Nurses and doctors came and went and Mia and Jane stayed in each other’s arms.

Eventually, Mia persuaded Jane that he had to go back to her apartment and have a shower and a shave and put on a fresh set of clothing.

Jane agreed somewhat reluctantly but understood that he needed some cleaning.

After Jane had finished showering and dressing, he called Lisbon for an update and to update her before he went back to the hospital.

Since Jane had left, two security guards had been posted outside of Mia’s room to make sure that nobody but authorized doctors and other personnel could get in.

“Hi,” Mia said as Jane walked into her room. “Feeling cleaner?”

Jane chuckled before he replied. “Yes, I do. How do you feel?”

“A lot better,” Mia replied as Jane sat in his chair and took her hand in his. “These pain drugs are amazing.”

Jane chuckled again before placing a kiss on the top of Mia’s hand.

“I spoke to the doctor and he said you should be able to go home in a couple of days.” Jane said as he leaned back in his seat.

“Yay,” Mia said softly with a smile. “I just want to be in my own bed.”

“Don’t worry; soon we’ll be in a familiar bed.” Jane said with a somewhat cheeky smile.

Mia simply smiled as she gave Jane’s hand a squeeze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

 

Mia took in a deep breath as she walked into her apartment. She was so glad to be in a familiar place that didn’t smell funny and didn’t have agitated nurses running around and fussing over how wonderful Jane was to her.

“Home, sweet home,” Mia said as she collapsed onto her couch with a sigh. “I have missed you.”

Jane chuckled before he joined Mia on the couch. He sat down and laid her feet in his lap, slowly massaging them as they enjoyed the silence.

“You know what I feel like?” Mia asked after a while.

“Ice-cream?” Jane asked with a smile.

“You know me so well.” Mia said before Jane lifted himself up and lowered his lips to hers.

“I’ll go and get some ice-cream,” Jane said as he stood and grabbed his car keys. “In the meantime, why don’t you go and run a warm bath and relax.”

“OK,” Mia said as she lifted herself from the couch. “I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon,” Jane replied as he watched Mia disappear up the stairs.

Jane drove to the local convenience store and grabbed a huge tub of chocolate ice-cream and a bottle of chocolate sauce. He also grabbed a tin of whipped cream, a bunch of bananas, and a box of cherries.

He figured he might as well go all the way and make banana splits rather than just give Mia a plain old bowl of ice-cream.

As Jane pulled into the driveway he could hear music coming from the house and he figured that Mia was probably getting back into her old routine.

Mia was dancing around singing along perfectly in tune when Jane walked through the front door with the grocery bags.

Jane felt as though Mia didn’t notice him, but he didn’t want to bother her. He made the banana splits and placed them on the dining room table.

A slow song came on and Mia ran over to Jane, grabbed his hand and pulled him with her into the living room. She put her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder as they swayed to the music, neither of them saying a word.

“We better eat our ice-cream before it melts.” Jane said after the song had ended.

Mia simply smiled as they walked to the dining room table and enjoyed their banana splits.

“Thank you,” Mia said as she licked the chocolate sauce off of her spoon.

“You’re welcome,” Jane said with a smile as he took a napkin and wiped some ice-cream off of Mia’s chin.

After Jane and Mia had finished their banana splits, they cleaned up and headed upstairs, curling up in bed and drifting off to sleep.

Jane heard a moan next to him as he woke a little to find Mia twisting and turning in the bed. She was thrashing in the blankets and murmuring in her sleep.

Jane lifted himself up and pulled Mia close, trying to calm her down.

“No!” Mia yelled as her eyes shot open and she tried to get out of Jane’s grip.

“Mia, sweetheart,” Jane said as he ran his hand up and down her back. “I’m here, you’re alright.”

Tears were streaming down Mia’s cheek as she looked around her and tried to figure out where she was.

“Where is he?!” Mia yelled as she looked around the room.

“Who?” Jane asked with slight confusion as he watched Mia closely.

“Red John,” Mia said. “Where is he?”

“He’s not here,” Jane said as he pulled Mia into his chest. “He’s not here, OK? I’m here to make sure you’re safe.”

“I’m so sorry,” Mia sobbed as he wrapped her arms around Jane tightly. “It was just so real.”

“It’s OK, it was just a dream.” Jane said as he ran his fingers through Mia’s hair. “You’re fine now.”

Jane slowly rocked Mia back and forth in his arms as the tears started to subside and her heart rate started to slow down.

“Patrick?” Mia said after a while.

“Yes my love?” Jane said.

“Could you make love to me?” Mia asked quietly.

“Of course,” Jane replied as he pulled away.

Jane laid his hand on Mia’s cheek and kissed her sweetly, letting her know that he was there for her.

Jane pushed Mia down and lay on top of her, kissing up her neck slowly.

“I love you,” Jane said as he looked into Mia’s eyes.

“I love you too,” Mia said before Jane kissed her lips.

**xxxxx**

Jane woke early that morning and left a note on Mia’s pillow, letting her know that he was at work and that she could call whenever she wanted.

Mia found the note when she rolled over and found that the other side of the bed was empty.

She was glad that she didn’t have to go to work for another week and that she could just lie in bed and read her book.

At about ten o’clock, Mia found herself in front of her laptop with a cup of tea. She bounced from travel site to travel site, looking for nothing in particular.

At about twelve, Mia had an idea in her head that she wasn’t entirely sure about. Maybe Jane would have some ideas.

Mia dialed the all too familiar number as she waited for Jane’s voice to come over the line.

“Hey Patrick,” Mia said with a small smile.

“Hello beautiful,” Came Jane’s reply. “How are you doing?”

“Good,” Mia replied. “I, um, I was wondering if you could come over in your lunch break, I just have a few things I wanna talk to you about.”

“OK,” Jane replied slowly. “What are you planning?”

“Oh, nothing,” Mia said. “I just wanna talk to you.”

“Alright,” Jane said. “I’ll see you soon.”

“See you soon.”

Mia ended the call and bookmarked all of the tabs open on her internet before she closed her laptop and made her way up the stairs to take a shower.

**xxxxx**

"Honey, I'm home," Jane said with a chuckle as he walked through the front door. "Mia?"

"Coming!" Came Mia's muffled reply from upstairs.

Jane looked around the little apartment, feeling oddly nervous. He walked over to the little table with the familiar picture frames on it. The first frame was a picture of Mia and Daniel, probably after her first case with SacPD. The second frame was a picture of Mia by herself, the third frame was a picture of both Jane and Mia that was taken on the beach in Malibu. Finally, there was a frame that was face down on the table and had been since Jane and Mia had first started dating.

Never before had Jane felt the extreme urge to lift the picture frame and see whose face was printed on the square in the frame, but now he could feel his fingers itching to lift the picture.

Jane looked towards the stair case and reassured himself that Mia was still busy upstairs before he reached out his hand and lifted the frame to see the picture inside.

He was a little surprised at whose faces were on the picture, but he kind of expected it. The picture was of a laughing Mia with strong arms around her shoulders. The man had darkish brown hair with crystal blue eyes and his lips on Mia's cheek, kissing her sweetly.

"That's Jake," said a voice from the staircase, causing Jane to jump a little. "The guy that I told you I was in love with."

Jane lay the picture down again and turned to Mia, keeping his face expressionless as she made her way down the last few steps.

"Remember when I told you about the incident in 2009?" Mia asked as she came to stand in front of Jane. Jane gave a nod as he remembered the story that had resembled the Bortaccelli case. "That's Jake."

Mia reached past Jane and lifted the picture up, standing it upright on the little table.

"The picture was taken just before I started with SacPD and Jake and I lost touch." Mia explained as she ran her fingers across the wooden picture frame. "I never had the heart to get rid of it."

Jane watched Mia closely in her nostalgic mood and smiled softly as he remembered Angela and Charlotte.

"Why did you break up if you loved him?" Jane asked after a while.

"He didn't want me to work with the police." Mia said as she turned to Jane slowly. "He wanted to travel the world with me, but his funds weren't really going to make that happen."

"Do you regret it?" Jane asked. "Joining SacPD and breaking up with Jake?"

"Sometimes," Mia replied honestly. "Sometimes I think that if we had stayed together he might still be alive today... But maybe we might have been living in a box in the middle of nowhere."

Mia smiled at the thought and Jane smiled as well, enjoying the glow that her smile had created.

"Well, the past is the past." Mia said. "Come, I wanna show you something."

Mia took Jane's hand and pulled him toward the dining room table where her laptop was waiting.

"I've been thinking that maybe I need some time to think." Mia said slowly after they had sat down.

"OK," Jane replied.

"Don't get me wrong, I still love you and I always will, but I think we just need to take a break." Mia said before she opened her laptop. "I found this site that has great deals on accommodation in Europe. I thought that now would be a good time to travel, but I want your opinion too, because I'm not sure if I should go."

Mia looked to Jane with unsurity in her eyes as she chewed her lip and waited for anxiously for his answer.

"I think you should," Jane replied with a smile. "Now is a good time. You enjoy yourself and I'll be here, catching Red John."

"Are you sure?" Mia asked. "The thing is... I don't know if I can do it."

"Of course you can," Jane said as he took Mia's hands in his. "You can do anything you put your mind to."

Mia smiled a genuine smile before she threw her arms around Jane's neck and gave him a tight hug.

"Thank you, Patrick," Mia said softly as Jane's arms circled around her middle and he hid his face in her red hair.

Mia pulled out of the embrace and closed her laptop.

"You'll be at the airport though, right?" Mia asked with uncertainty.

"Of course," Jane said with a smile. "I wouldn't let you leave without saying goodbye."

"Good," Mia said happily before she leaned over and kissed Jane sweetly, reassuring him that she still loved him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)


	37. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think! Leave a comment and give me some kudos :)

**Epilogue**

_**Three months later** _

****

Mia had been enjoying her traveling and hadn't just gone to Europe, but had gone to Africa and Asia as well. Jane still got letters and emails from her and the occasional phone call. He found himself missing Mia, but more and more he started to feel happy for Mia and the fact that she was moving on.

The most recent letter he'd gotten from Mia lay on his desk in the attic.

He took a sip of his tea before he lifted the envelope and opened it carefully.

_**Dear Patrick,** _

****

_**I'm in Australia at the moment and am really enjoying the sand and the surf. It reminds me a little bit of Malibu, so I'm sure you'd enjoy it here. I recently started surfing again! I thought I might have forgotten since you taught me, but it's like riding a bike... You never forget.** _

****

_**I still have your ring, because I know you told me to keep it and I always think of you because of it. Maybe you could come down for a vacation some time.** _

****

_**Well, I better get going! Write soon!** _

****

_**Forever yours,** _

_**Mia xx** _

****

Jane smiled as he folded up the letter and put it in the inner pocket of his suit jacket.

He would have to write a reply later and send it off to Mia's address in Sydney, Australia. Maybe he would consider her offer to join her there, you never know... He might really enjoy it.

Yes, he would always love Mia just as he would always love Angela and Charlotte, but he was sure that someday Mia would be asking him to be a godfather and he would be a father once again. 

Yep, that would happen one day, but for now he would just enjoy his tea and reminisce about his beautiful, red headed, simple diversion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter ! Thank you so much for reading and going on this roller coaster ride with Jane and Mia. I hope you enjoyed this story !

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a review and let me know what you think!


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